


Megalomania

by Miikado



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Popstar, Bodyguard!Hiccup, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Musician!Jack, Popstar!Jack, dog!toothless
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-06
Updated: 2015-09-14
Packaged: 2018-03-06 09:26:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 31,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3129485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miikado/pseuds/Miikado
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack is the lead singer and youngest member of the rising band, The Guardians. After a year-long tour, his manager, North, decides to force him back to college to tone down his diva attitude. But to ensure his safety, he'll be stuck with a bodyguard, a surprisingly young brunet known as Hiccup.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Encounters

Jack wasn't exactly pleased to be sitting in the tiny office of his manager, on the rough chair that dug into his legs, and with no air-conditioning to boot. He could feel the eyes of his… colleagues, drilling holes in his back as they awkwardly waited for the huge Russian man to make his entrance.

He and the two traitors standing next to him were part of the new hot rock band that was holding the records in the music industry, also known to the fans as The Guardians. Tooth, the petite brunette with rainbow-coloured strands of hair and an outfit just as colourful, was the bassist and worked the chorus. Aster, a tall Australian guy with short hair dyed grey and tattoos covering every inches of his arms and neck, was the drummer. And Jack, nicknamed "Jack Frost" for his spiky hair bleached bright white, was the singer, guitarist and youngest member of the band. He was barely 20, whereas the other two were already old enough to pay taxes.

Truthfully, Jack knew that his ages wasn't an issue. He was the most important member, the essence of the band. They were nothing without him… But statements like this were the sole reason he was now suffering through the heat of the tiny, poorly lit office.

Jack sunk deeper into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest and grumbling to himself, when the office door slammed opened and North, a bulky Russian man that worked as their manager, walked into the office.

« A Jack! Good to see you, my friend! Wonderful day today, yes? »

Jack sighed. If North was anything, aside from frighteningly _huge_ , he was a constantly jolly man. Nothing seemed to ever bring him down. Which pissed Jack off to no end.

« Not exactly » Jack muttered « North why was I literally _dragged_ in here by those two » he gestured at his fellow band members, not even bothering to glance at them.

« Because I asked you to come often, but you never listened! So I asked Toothy and Bunny for help! » North clapped his hands « And they did wonderful job, too. Now, I have big announcement! »

« Wassat? » Jack raised an eyebrow suspiciously

« You just finished world-wide tour for band, which was big success! » North smiled widely, pulling his office chair and sitting in front of the younger boy « Now you have lots of free time, and I had _brilliant_ idea! »

Jack flinched. North's "brilliant" ideas were rarely good, let alone brilliant. They usually meant that he was in deep trouble, and had to be dealt with quickly.

« Starting next week » North continued before pointing at Jack « You will be going to college, to learn new things and meet new people »

« _What_? » Jack hissed.

« Yes! You will be taking lessons and going to classes, like normal 20-years-old boy »

The white-haired teen fell back in his chair, anger flaring as he heard Aster snickering behind him. He glared towards his manager « You're kicking me out of the band? »

« Rimsky-Korsakov, no! » North laughed « You all have free time before recording of new album, and the company agreed that you should go back to your studies, at least for a while » The Russian man's smile softened at Jack's murderous expression « Jack, no one here is getting rid of you. You are important part of the band » he lifted a finger « All three of you » he added before the teen could shoot a cocky grin at the other two « But we all think you need to take some time for yourself, to see how the world is out there »

« _Bullshit_! » Jack spat « What's really going on here? » he turned to glare at Aster and Tooth, before going back to his manager « I'm not a kid anymore, North. If you have something to tell me, spit it out! »

The man's smile flattened slightly, and he frowned. « Jack » he said « A band is like carefully made watch. It cannot work if every single piece is not in place » he intertwined his fingers as a demonstration « It is important for the good of all that everyone here works together and gives their best. What I'm saying is— »

« What he's saying » Aster cut him off « Is that we can't have the band running with you constantly acting like a bloody show-pony! »

« Aster, you son of a b— »

« _Jack_! » Tooth interrupted, worry written all over her face.

« Jack... » North spoke again, more softly this time « Lately you've had poor image among press. You act rude, arrive late... This won't work anymore » he sighed « If you don't respect fans, they will leave » the man shook his head « So we think that getting you out of celebrity-world, into real-life, will benefit both you and the band » when Jack didn't stop glaring, he added « We are doing this for your own good, trust me »

« This is the worst idea ever » Jack flung his arms in the air « You can't just dump me into a shitty college and expect everything to go smoothly! People will recognise me and it'll be a riot before I even set foot inside the building! »

« That's why we hired protection » North nodded « You will have personal bodyguard following you all the time, so nothing can harm you »

« Yeah sure » Jack laughed darkly « Add a 500 pound gorilla in a suit to the mix, that'll help me stay on the low! »

« No gorilla » North shook his head « We hired young boy from special unit. He has same age as you »

Right on cue, North motioned towards the door, and someone stepped in. Jack's eyes widened incredulously at the sight of the brunet standing in the door-frame. The kid was probably a foot shorter than him, if not more. He was gawky and awkward-looking, with arms and legs that reassembled twigs more than they did limbs. His auburn hair fell over forest green eyes as he stared at the floor, clearly uncomfortable.

« _Seriously_? » Jack hissed as North motioned for the kid to come closer « That's what you hired to protect me? I mean look at the kid! He looks too frail to even take care of _himself_ , let alone someone else! »

The boy crunched his nose and rolled his eyes. With an annoyed huff, and before anyone could react, he quickly grabbed Jack's arm and snapped it behind his back, using his free hand to smash his head against the desk. Jack yelped and tried to wiggle out of the boy's iron grip, but to no avail.

« I don't know how much you're paying the kid » Aster said with a grin « But it's definitely not enough »

Jack groaned, and as he was about to yell, another set of steps made their entrance in the office.

« Hiccup, let the boy go » a deep voice ordered. The brunet complied, but still grinned in satisfaction as Jack rubbed his painful limbs. « How many times have I told you to behave? »

« Sorry » Hiccup said, but his tone was far from apologetic.

« Ah! Stoick! » North called, standing up to shake the man's hand.

The sight was quite frightening. North was a large man, with a great white beard and arms bigger than Jack's two legs combined. But Stoick was just as large, with a long ginger beard braided towards the end. The man was properly terrifying, and reminded Jack of a Viking.

« Jack this is Stoick. He owns the company I was just telling you about »

Jack held out his hand hesitantly, and tried his best not to cry out when it was nearly crushed to pieces.

« Our unit specialises in cases like yours » the man explained « We train younger people to protect younger celebrities, and to follow them around without making too much of a fuss » he motioned towards the smaller boy, who stepped closer « Hiccup here will be attending the same classes as you, and you two will he cohabiting in a specially secured apartment not too far from your college »

« _Great_! » Jack clapped sarcastically while standing up « Well thanks for your hard work » he glared around him « And thanks for the _babysitter_ » he hissed, walking out of the office and slamming the door shut behind him.

The office remained silent for a while, all eyes still glued to the door, until North cleared his throat, and smiled at Hiccup.

« Sorry about that, looks like you're going to have your hands full with that one »

Hiccup shrugged « I've seen worse » he said.

« Well enough chit-chat » the Russian man clapped his hands « You better follow him before he tries anything stupid. You'll need time to unpack and get things ready before Monday, anyway. Off you go! »

The brunet nodded, and turned away after bidding his good-byes to everyone. As he reached the door, he felt Aster's hand on his shoulder.

« Do me a favour » he said « Don't forget to ruffle him up a bit for me, alright mate? »

The boy chuckled, and ran after what he knew was going to be a very annoying client.

 


	2. Home Sweet Home

Hiccup kept digging his nails into the black leather of the steering wheel as the car swallowed the road in front of him. The sun was barely setting, bathing the sky in shades of pink and orange. The city was slowly coming to life, with lights twinkling on and off as the people living in those countless buildings went on to their usual business. It was a pleasant sight, really.

Or, it could've been, if Hiccup hadn't had to suffer through Jack's incessant nagging from the back seat.

They have been driving for less than twenty minutes, but the boy just hadn't shut up a single second since they'd left the building. He kept complaining about the car, the town, the smell, and the situation as a whole. After a while, Hiccup had stopped paying attention, and had tried tuning out Jack's words until they were nothing more than a vague, drowned noise in the background.

When they arrived in the small city of Burgess, where the two would be living and studying for the time being, the sun had already set, and the town was already surrounded by darker, with only the artificial glow from the street lamps to light the eery roads. After a few more minutes, Hiccup finally pulled over into the parking lot in front of what would be his new home, at least for the time being. The brunet switched off the ignition and pulled out the key, resting his forehead on the steering wheel for a while.

He hadn't exactly been pleased at the idea of sharing a place with the white-haired singer, no matter how short that cohabitation would be. And the prima donna attitude that the other had shown so far had sapped what little motivation the brunet had built up. They had barely been in each other's presence for an hour, and already Hiccup felt like strangling the boy. He was tempted— _so very tempted_ —to refuse the job, and tell the bratty celebrity to _go to hell_.

But he couldn't. He had to be professional and act accordingly. His father was counting on him and, truth be told, he really needed the money.

Jack cleared him throat in the back seat of the car, unmoving as his foot tapped in annoyance. Hiccup lifted his head slightly, shooting him a glare in the rear-view mirror.

« What _now_? » he spat, earning an equally displeased scowl from the other boy.

« What are you waiting for? » Jack hissed « Aren't you gonna open the door for me? »

Hiccup choked back a sneering laugh. « What do I look like? » he snapped « Your freaking _boyfriend_? » he grabbed the door handle, swinging the door open and pulling himself out of the car « Open your own goddamn door. »

Rolling his eyes, he walked around the car and opened the trunk, resting against it for a second as he let out an exhausted sigh. ' _Get your shit together, Hiccup!_ ' the brunet thought, ' _You two are going to be living together for Gods know how long, so you might as well make the best of it_.'

He pulled out his bag, swinging it over his shoulder, and stared at the luggage laying in the trunk. Biting his lip, he finally pulled it out as well and set it down on the floor, next to the car. ' _That's right,_ ' he said to himself, ' _Try to be nice, the guy can't be that bad after all…_'

As he slammed the trunk, Jack came out of the car. He stopped a few feet away from the brunet, and him a look-over. Frowning, he asked;

« What's the apartment number? »

Hiccup raised an eyebrow at the tone « Apartment 45 » he said, « Third floor »

« Right » Jack huffed, and turned his back at the boy, walking away from the parking lot towards the main building.

The brunet narrowed his eyes, drilling holes into the other's back as he kicked angrily at the floor.

« Oh _no_ » he said sarcastically—to himself, mostly, as no one else was around to listen— as he picked up the suitcase on the floor « Let _me_ take care of that! I _insist_ , it's my  _pleasure_ »

The boy kept grunting and growling until he finally reached the third floor, his back strained from pulling the extra weight. He saw Jack waiting by the door, leaning against the wall and glaring impatiently at him.

« Took you long enough » the white-haired boy groaned.

« Well _excuse_ me » Hiccup spat, pulling the apartment key out of his front pocket and ramming it angrily into the door « I might've been quicker if I hadn't had to act like a freaking _porter_ with your suitcase »

Jack shrugged, obviously not paying attention to the accusation. Hiccup huffed, and opened the door. Once he had switched on the light, he was greeted by a deafening bark, and Jack jumped back a few steps. The brunet barely had the time to brace himself before he was tackled to the ground by a dark shadow. Much to the white-haired singer's surprise, the boy laid there, laughing as he pushed the jet black dog away from him.

« Toothless! » Hiccup cried out, laughing « Get off, bud! »

The dog, however, didn't cooperate, and instead started licking and drooling all over the boy, whose efforts to push him away were vain.

« Ugh, Toothless no! » the brunet whined, standing back on his feet and wiping his face « I'm glad to see you too, Bud, but you know that doesn't wash out! »

Jack stared at the off-putting scene from afar. « What the fuck is _that_? » he asked, disgruntled.

Hiccup glanced up at Jack, seemingly remembering his presence in the hallway. He shot the boy a glare at his phrasing, and answered with a frown.

« _He_ » the boy emphasized, holding the dog by its collar to keep him from tackling Jack « Is Toothless. He's a German Shepherd dog I've been working with for years » the boy's eyes could've shot daggers as he continued « He'll be staying with us, as an extra protection »

Jack crunched his nose in disapproval as he stared down at the dog. The beast was freakishly huge, probably twice as big as a normal dog should be, and ten times as threatening. Toothless felt the boy's distrust, and started baring his teeth menacingly. Jack frowned when he heard Hiccup reprimanding the dog. _Toothless_ , what kind of stupid name was _that_? The monster obviously had teeth, many of them, and razor-sharp at that.

The white-haired boy straightened his back, and walked passed the dog, into the apartment.

« Whatever » he groaned « Just keep your mutt away from me, I don't want any fleas on my bed »

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, shooting the other a look a pure loathing as he pulled out a walk-talky from his belt and pressed the button, bringing it closer to his lips as he spoke.

« Night Fury to Alpha One » he said, « We have reached planned location. I repeat; We have reached planned location. Over. »

After a second of silence, the device emitted a sizzling sound before an unintelligible voice answered;

« _Alpha One to Night Fury, is the target secured? Over._ »

The brunet glared daggers at Jack, who lazily returned the favor, and spoke again.

« I am currently the only known threat to the target » he said, making sure to break out each syllable menacingly.

« _Hiccup_ … » the voice came as a warning, clearly unamused.

« Sorry dad » the boy flinched « Target secured. Over »

Jack raised an eyebrow, not letting that last comment slip. « _Dad_? » he asked arrogantly.

The brunet gave the other a stern look as the boy started laughing disdainfully.

« That dude's your _dad_? » Jack asked again « You're the boss' _son_? » he smirked « So _that's_ how you got the job, huh? No wonder they'd employ a fishbone like you, if daddy's running the business! » Jack ignored the hateful look on the boy's face and kept speaking « And you're supposed to protect me? How? Look at you! You only got the job 'cause your old man took pity on you! »

Hiccup clenched his fists to his side, trying his best to refrain himself from shoving them down the asshole's throat. His eyes were narrowed in a look a pure hatred.

« What's that? » Jack sneered, walking closer to the shorter boy, and lifting his chin with the tip of his finger as he pouted mockingly « Did I hurt your feelings, _daddy's boy_? You're not going to cry, are you? »

And with that, Hiccup snapped. He grabbed the other by the collar of his shirt and violently pushed him against the wall. Jack was a good foot taller than him, and looked twice as muscular than he was, but that didn't keep the brunet from pinning him to the wall and pressing his arm against his throat, causing him to yelp in surprise.

« _Enough_! » he spat, loudly enough to catch Jack off-guard. « I've had enough of you and your _shitty behavior_! » He was yelling, now, but he didn't care if it was almost eleven, if the neighbors would complain. He didn't care if Jack was his client and he was acting unprofessionally. He'd had enough. « I don't know who the fuck you think you are, but don't count on me to put up with your diva attitude like a fucking _lapdog_. I was hired as your _bodyguard_ , not your fucking _housemaid_. If you don't show me at least a bit of respect, you can go _fuck yourself_ and find someone else to watch over your _pathetic ass_. »

Hiccup released the boy, who fell to the ground, coughing slightly. He glared at him once more.

« I hope I made myself _fucking clear_ » he said, articulating carefully so that the other didn't miss a word he spoke « Because i won't be saying it again »

Jack watched as the brunet picked up his bag from the floor and walked towards his room, Toothless sticking to his heels. He hissed in pain, clutching his throat as he stood up.

« What about dinner? » he spat, glaring arrogantly at the other.

« Do I look like I fucking _care_? » Hiccup snarled « Take care of it yourself » He slammed the bedroom door behind him, leaving Jack alone in the living room.

The white-haired man gave a look around the place, pacing the room, still frowning and obviously pissed. Never in his life had he been treated that way. He'd make sure to report the incident to North first thing in the morning, hoping he'd get the brunet's sorry ass fired before breakfast.

A growl from his stomach brought the boy back to reality. He was _starving_.

As it was clear his new _roommate_ couldn't be taking care of the dinner that night, Jack shook his head and decided to take the matter in his own hands. Sure, all of his chores were normally taken care of by someone else, and _sure_ , he had been a little spoiled over the years. But he was an adult, for fuck's sake. He could cook something, probably.

Walking to the kitchen, the boy stood in front of the fridge for a few minutes, gapping helplessly at its content. He finally grabbed a few eggs, cursing the gods when one slipped from his hands and crashed on the kitchen tiles.

Swearing relentlessly, Jack set a frying pan on the stove, and turned it on at the highest level as he went to clean up the mess he'd made. Once he was done, he went back to the stove and broke a couple of eggs, whining loudly when a few shells found their way into the pan. Determined to make this right—and prove he _could_ take care of himself—he grabbed the boiling handle and let out a pained cry, shaking his hand up and down in hope of easing the pain as the pan clattered back on the stove ring.

He was standing in the middle of the kitchen, holding his injured hand, with no clue on what to do, when Hiccup came walking back into the room. The brunet stared at him distrustingly, carefully taking in the mess that had occurred in the kitchen, before pointing at the sink.

« Go put your hand under cold water » Hiccup order « I'll take care of the burning stuff »

« What? » Jack asked « It's not— _Shit_! » he groaned, finally noticing the black smoke coming from the stove. Without thinking, he tried grabbing the pan again, only to cry out in utter agony and drop it on the floor, scattering food all over the kitchen. « _Fuck_! »

« Odin's beard! » Hiccup cursed, pushing Jack towards the sink and running ice-cold water over his wounded hand « Are you trying to get yourself killed? »

Jack winced in pain, looking away from the brunet who was cradling—not so gently, mind you—his aching hand. After a few minutes, the pain slowly subsided.

Hiccup dragged Jack to the nearest stool, ordering him to stay put as he went to get the first-aid kit. A few minutes later, Jack's hand was covered in ointment and properly banded.

« If the pain gets worse by tomorrow, we'll have to check you into the hospital » Hiccup said, frowning. Jack nodded, still sulking slightly, when his starving stomach decided to make itself known by growling loudly. The boy looked away.

« Stay still » Hiccup sighed « I'll make us something… Just try not to cause another disaster »

The brunet pulled Toothless—who was sniffing curiously at the mess—away from the burnt eggs on the floor, and pulled out another frying pan from a cupboard. He cracked a few eggs opened, pouring the content in the pan, before trying to scrape off the burnt parts of the one Jack had dropped, to no avail.

Once the kitchen was clean, and eggs were sizzling in the pan, slightly golden on the edges, the boy set them in two plates, and handed one to Jack. The boy looked cautiously at the food. Sure, he hadn't expected anything grand, but he had al least hoped for something a little more fancy than plain eggs.

« That's it? » he asked, poking at the yolk with his fork. 

Hiccup didn't even bother to look up from his plate, slowly chewing on his food.

« Well I'm not making anything else. » he said « So, either you eat this, or you starve »

And Jack didn't need to be told twice.


	3. Price of Fame

The next morning, Hiccup was awoken by the nagging sound of his alarm clock buzzing in his ear. The brunet groaned, and rolled around in his bed to slam his hand on the snooze button, but only managed to hit the corner of his nightstand. The boy's eyes shot open, and he sat up in a jolt, cradling his stinging hand as he moaned in pain. Well, at least he was awake now.

When he heard that his master was awake, Toothless didn't waste a second to jump on the bed, front paws digging in the brunet's stomach as he moaned in pain once more.

« Toothless, down bud! » he pleaded with a laugh, pushing the drooling dog away from him. The dog jumped off, and spun around the bed happily. Hiccup chuckled, patting the animal's head affectionately as he tried wiping the saliva off of his face.

« Yeah, yeah » he said when the dog gave a small bark « Good morning to you too bud »

Hiccup slapped the alarm, shutting the devilish device off, and pulled himself out of bed. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, he ran his hands through his hair, waiting for the fog in his mind to subside. To say that wasn't a morning person was a _huge_ understatement. Shooting a glare at the glowing digits of the digital clock, the boy took in the fact that he had about two hours to get ready before his first class started. He got up lazily, dragging his feet on the cold wooden floor as he made his way to the bathroom.

He made a halt in front of Jack's room, and knocked on the closed door.

« Jack » he called, rubbing his face, still half-asleep « I'm going to take a shower, we'll leave in an hour and a half, make sure to be ready »

The shower helped, a little. The cold water managed to chase a bit of the numbness away, and throw Hiccup into a state of somewhat consciousness, enough to make and eat breakfast and feed his pet without injuring himself. Throwing a shirt over his head, he glanced at the clock again. They had to leave in twenty minutes if they didn't want to be late for classes, and still Hiccup saw no sign of Jack.

Grunting and buttoning up his pants, the brunet walked to the closed door again, and knocked, more loudly this time.

« Jack, are you up? »

No answer.

« Jack we're going to be late, _hurry up_ »

Still nothing.

« I'm coming in, I hope you're decent »

When he was once again answered by nothing but silence, Hiccup turned the handle and pushed the door open. _Please be wearing clothes, please please please be wearing clothes_... Hiccup's eyes widened slight, taken aback by what was inside the room. It was quite a sight, really.

Jack was lying in his bed, spread on top of crumpled covers, his limbs sticking out in awkward angles. He was only wearing a pair of blue boxers, probably suffering from the heat, and Hiccup thanked the Gods the boy didn't sleep completely naked. That would've been a trauma hard to erase.

Jack's face was pressed against the mattress, sheets marks all over his cheeks, and a bit of drool dribbling from his chin. Hiccup silently wondered how much a picture of the _Great Jack Frost_ in such a state could sell on Craigslist. He shook his head, and got closer to the boy, reaching out to slowly shake his shoulder.

« Jack, _get up_ » When he received no sign of the other waking up, he shook him harder and harder, raising his voice, but in vain. The best he got was a gross, guttural noise from the back of the boy's throat. « Oh, for the love of— »

Hiccup stormed out of the room, only to come back moments later, a bucket full of cold water in hands. Without a second thought, he tossed it all at Jack, earning a screeching yelp when the icy liquid made contact with the boy's sleeping form. Jack screamed, throwing himself out of the bed and onto the floor with a loud 'thump'. He quickly sat up, looking around the room in utter shock, seemingly uncertain of where he was anymore.

« W-W-What the— How— _HUH_? »

« Get up » Hiccup ordered « You're already late. I guess you can skip the shower, now » he turned around to leave, but stopped by the door. « You should take care of the mattress first » he said, pointing at the bed « We don't have a spare one ».

With that, he left and slammed the door behind him, leaving Jack completely shell-shocked.

* * *

By the time they reached the campus of the college, Hiccup was fighting the killer headache caused by Jack's incessant nagging. It seemed like that would be a thing, from now on.

The brunet sighed as Jack went on and on about how outrageous the morning's events had been.

« Listen, _princess_ » Hiccup glared, turning around and jabbing a finger into the other's chest, « I don't know what you were expecting coming here, but this isn't a trip to the spa. I get paid to bring you safely to and from your classes, but that's it. If you don't want to take this seriously, that's your problem. Just don't make a mess around you, _some of us_ here take our studies seriously »

Without waiting for an answer, Hiccup turned around again, and walked in the building. He wouldn't be able to keep up like that for long, he knew it. Jack probably knew it just as well, which was why he'd been acting like a massive dick every breathing second they had spent together.

Once he walked inside the college building, Hiccup found himself relaxing a bit. The clean marble floor and stainless beige walls were a reassuring sight to him, a friendly reminder that his "Jack" problem was only temporary, and soon enough it'd all be over. The brunet's mood improved significantly more when he spotted a familiar blonde sitting on a bench, checking her phone.

« Astrid! » Hiccup called out. The girl's head shot up, and she gave him a warm smile as she stood up. Hiccup walked faster, catching her off guard when he pulled her into a hug.

« Hiccup, what's wrong? » Astrid asked, patting the boy's back with an amused smile.

« I'm gonna _kill_ him » the brunet moaned into the girl's hair.

Astrid gave him a puzzled look, but suddenly seemed to notice the white-haired boy standing behind Hiccup, glaring daggers into his back.

« Oh, hi! » she smiled, pushing Hiccup away softly, and turned to Jack « You must be Hiccup's new job, right? »

Jack simply ignored her, and turned to the brunet instead.

« She _knows_? » he asked, although his tone was more accusing than questioning « Aren't you supposed to be a top-secret professional or whatever? Figured you'd go screaming it on every rooftop »

« Okay, first of all » Hiccup turned around, furious. « This was never a secret, I just don't see the point of telling everyone about it » He stepped closer to Jack, threateningly « You're not that big of a deal, Jack » he spat « And besides, she's the only one to know » he added, gesturing at Astrid « She's like family to me, of course she knows »

The blonde girl pulled a face at how palpable the tension between the two was. Deciding to ease the awkwardness, she cleared her throat.

« We haven't been properly introduced, I'm Astrid », she smiled and held out a hand to the white-haired boy.

Jack stared at the girl, looking her up and down judgingly before raising an eyebrow. « I'm not gonna remember that » he said.

Hiccup forced a laugh, throwing his hands in the air.

« That guy's unbelievable! » he groaned « I can't believe anyone would act like such an _ass_! »

« Why you little— »

The two stepped closer, ready to rip each other's throat out, but Astrid quickly stepped in, grabbing Hiccup by the arm and pulling him away.

« Hiccup! » she said, snapping the boy out of his blind rage « How about we help Jack get his schedule, okay? »

The brunet rolled his eyes, but agreed nonetheless, and walked with Astrid as Jack followed reluctantly behind. The white-haired boy watched as Hiccup slowly calmed down, and started talking more actively to his friend.

After a couple of minutes, he had a smile plastered on his lips as he spoke about one thing or another, which pissed Jack off to no end. He had expected his new body guard to be a generally unpleasant person, but the fact that he could warm up to others and that he was being treated differently got under his skin.

When Astrid waved them goodbye and left, and Hiccup turned around to glare at Jack and growl a reluctant

« Let's go », the boy snapped.

« No »

« What? » Hiccup turned around, unsure if he had heard right.

« I'm not going anywhere with you » Jack snarled.

« What's that supposed to mean? » the brunet asked, pulling Jack by the wrist and dragging him somewhere less populated.

« It means I'm fed up with this little _joke_ » the other hissed, pulling away fem Hiccup's grip « I don't know what my manager had in mind when he forced me into this mess, but I'm done. I'm not going to accept being treated like shit by the likes of you. »

« _Excuse_ me? » Hiccup spat, completely stunned.

« You heard me »

« Are you kidding me? » the brunet faked a laugh « You've been acting like a jackass since the second we met, and you're upset because I've ignored you two freaking minutes? What are you, six? » He ignored Jack's glare and kept going « Let me tell you something, you numbskull. I don't know what kind of fucked up fairy tale land you grew up in, but this is the real world. And here, you can't just treat people like shit and expect them to do your bidding! » Jack didn't answer, glaring holes in the other boy. Hiccup rolled his eyes and raised his hands slightly.

« But, _please_ , don't let me stop you! » he said « If you want to leave, be my guest! Just know this... » Emerald eyes caught icy blue ones, and Hiccup fiercely held Jack's gaze as he added, his voice firmer than before « If you stay, don't expect me to treat you like a decent fucking human being until you start acting like one »

With that, the brunet turned around, pulling on the strap of his bag, and walked to his class, uncaring of wether the white-haired teen would follow him or not. Hiccup slumped into a seat in the back of the room, dropping his bag next to him. It was barely 8.30am and he was already exhausted. This was going to be a very long day.

He heard the chair next to his being pulled, and he turned to see Jack sitting down, obviously still annoyed and not sparing him a glance. Hiccup—although he'd deny it if questioned—sighed in relief when the white-haired boy took his place next to him in class, glad he wouldn't have to explain to his father how he had lost his client after barely 12 hours in his company.

* * *

The rest of the day went painfully slowly. Jack wasn't enjoying any of his classes, and his body guard's silent treatment wasn't helping, either. The worst part was that, aside from a few curious glances every now and then—probably because of the hair—Jack had gone relatively unnoticed by the other college students.

When North had suggested to send him back to his studies, he had thought he'd be recognized immediately, expecting some sort of riot as his fans would've clawed at each other to get his autograph. Sure, he wasn't wearing any of his extravagant stage clothes—Jack pulled a face at his current outfit; plain black skinny jeans and a blue zip-up hoodie over a white shirt. He was even wearing blue sneakers. Sneakers!—but despite his unmistakable white hair and blue eyes, he still felt... _Invisible_.

When their last class ended, Jack sighed in relief. He wanted to get back to that ridiculously small place they dared to call and apartment, and beg North to let him go back to his usual life. As he was about to leave, Hiccup gestured for the boy to wait for him in the hall as he went to talk with one of the professors. Jack grunted. There was no way he'd sit around and wait outside like a pet dog. Pulling up the hood of his sweatshirt, he walked out of the building, leaving the brunet behind.

Once he was outside, Jack took a second to enjoy the slight hum of the city slowly coming to life. He usually rarely had the time to appreciate the reddish hues of the setting sun, or the soft warmth of the evening breeze on his face. Most of the time, he had to rush through crowds of fans, without a second to take in how peaceful little country towns like Burgess actually were. Maybe anonymity wasn't all so bad, after all.

Pushing his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, Jack walked through the town without a direction or purpose, simply enjoying the feeling of freedom it procured him.

However, this little moment of happiness came crumbling down as he felt a slight tap on his shoulder. He stopped and turned around, raising an eyebrow when he saw two teenage girls standing in front of him with the widest grins on their lips.

« Hi? » Jack asked, uncertain.

« _Oh my god_! » the first one squealed, a girl with ginger hair pulled in two braids on each side of her face. « You're Jack Frost, aren't you? »

The boy gulped loudly, but before he could stutter an answer, the same girl let out a high-pitched scream, and Jack flinched at how shrill her voice was. The girl bounced up and down excitedly, turning at her friend—a blonde with thick-framed glasses—and rambling about how she had told her so.

Jack took a step back, feeling the urge to escape before the girls went completely ballistic. But the teens swiftly grabbed his arm, forcing various items into his arms—sign _this_ , look at _that_ , kiss _this_ —and snapped dozens of pictures with their cell phones. Before long, their antics attracted the other pedestrians' attention, and soon those two girls were replaced by a whole crowd of insane fangirls.

The white-haired singer felt completely at lost. He'd thought he was used to the attention, but without anyone to keep the fans at a respectable distance, he had a hard time handling the screaming, the touching, the _groping_. His head started spinning as the teens swarmed around him, squealing and screaming until their throats went sore. Jack was pretty sure that he would be permanently deaf if he somehow made it out if this mess.

Suddenly, he was violently pulled back, and he closed his eyes as he expected another herd of hands to claw at his clothes and limbs. Instead, he was dragged away from the crowd crying for him to come back. Confused, Jack stumbled to his feet, craning his neck to get a glance at his new-found savior.

« Hiccup? » he called when he noticed the auburn hair and freckled face.

The brunet dragged him down the road, pulling him into a small alleyway, and pushed him against the wall. Furious, he threw his hands in the air as he screamed;

« What the _fuck_ were you thinking? I told you to wait for me! » 

Jack didn't speak back, but a frown found a way on his face as his initial shock wore off.

« Jack you can't just go around by yourself! » Hiccup spat « Imagine what would have happened if I hadn't found you! »

« I was doing fine on my own » Jack lied through his teeth.

« Yeah, sure! » the other boy forced a laugh « So I guess you _weren't_ about to be eaten alive by a bunch of crazed twelve-years old! »

« How'd you even find me? »

« I followed you! I figured out you wouldn't have the decency to follow an order as simple as ' _stay_ ' » he scoffed « Besides, you weren't exactly hard to track down »

Jack rolled his eyes, pushing past the smaller boy as he tried to walk away. Hiccup, however, grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, forcing the other to face him.

« I'm not kidding! » he hissed « It's dangerous for you to go alone! If it wasn't, I wouldn't be there in the first place! » Hiccup's tone got harsher « So stop acting like a _drama queen_ for five goddamn seconds and don't ever try to pull something like that again! »

Jack crunched his nose, huffing in annoyance as he looked away.

« Next time I won't be there to save your sorry ass, Jack. Understood? » When he didn't get an answer, he dug his nails deeper into the boy's shoulder, managing to get his attention as he looked up to him « _Understood_? » he said again, stressing each syllable.

« Yeah yeah, whatever » Jack scowled, freeing himself for Hiccup's grasp and walking out of the alleyway, back into the main street. The fans had all left, and Jack kicked the curb like a kid throwing a tantrum as he walked back to their apartment. He felt Hiccup walking close behind, and he grunted, wishing the world would just cut him some slack.


	4. No One Likes Grocery Shopping

The afternoon sun was filtering through the dust-clouded windows of the college library, bathing the room in soft hues of red. The smell of old parchment and ink gave off a relaxing and peaceful feeling to the few students still working there. Eyes glued on the pages of a book, fingers slowly tracing the lines and mind absorbed in his reading, Hiccup let out a satisfied sigh.

Places like these made him feel so satisfied and comfortable. Surrounded by books, the brunet felt like nothing could get to him. Not even the constant rolling of Jack's pen which, chin pressed on the edge of the desk, he kept blowing away from his face in boredom.

The white-haired singer wasn't quite used to wait around with nothing to do, and the fact that Hiccup insisted on staying back after their last class to read— _read!_ —was causing him to grow more and more annoyed with each ticking second.

« Are you done yet? » Jack asked for the millionth time in the past hour. Like each time, Hiccup simply gave him an absent-minded shrug. « Ugggghhhh » he groaned, slamming his forehead on the desk.

« Don't hit your head » the brunet muttered without looking up from his book « You're going to ruin what's left of your non-existant brain »

« Then _hurry up_ » he pressed, ignoring the insult.

Hiccup sighed, and finally resigned himself to close the book, holding it up for a second, eyes closed, before sighing and stuffing it in his bag.

« You're such a pain in the ass » he complained as he got off from his chair « You can't stay still for one little hour, can you? »

« And _you_ — » Jack shot back « Are such a kill-joy! I can't believe you chose to stay here and read, when we could've been doing something better… »

« Yeah yeah, whatever » Hiccup waved him off.

They walked out of the college grounds, ambling down the streets, towards their apartment. It was a twenty minutes walk at most, which could've been easily avoided by taking a bus, but Jack's buzz-kill of a bodyguard had insisted on walking, saying they both needed "exercice" and "fresh air" or whatever.

« I have to stop by the convenience store before we get home » Hiccup said.

« What for? » Jack crunched his nose.

« Groceries »

« You want to go _grocery shopping_? » the white-haired boy hissed, incredulous.

« Well, yeah » Hiccup answered, raising an eyebrow « We're low on food, I don't think we have anything to eat for tonight »

« And why do _I_ have to come? »

« Because I'm supposed to keep an eye on you 24/7, dumbass » the brunet rolled his eyes.

« Bullshit » Jack spat, walking past the other boy « I'm not going to carry plastic bags around just so you can babysit me. You take care of that, I'm going back »

Hiccup stopped to a halt and grabbed the singer by the collar, spinning him around.

« Listen up, ass-face » he hissed « I already told you that where I go, you go. Don't count on me to be your errand-boy. Now, I'm going to go buy some goddamn food, and you're going to follow me without so much as a word » He jabbed a finger in the boy's chest « Either you come, or you starve. _Capisce_? »

Jack shot him a glare and pushed the other's hand away, but rolled his eyes and followed him nonetheless.

The shop was a few blocks away from their apartment. It wasn't much, really, but the owner was decently nice and their isles had enough food to fill his kitchen, so Hiccup didn't complain. They walked through the automatic doors, greeted by the mechanical ' _ding_ ' it made, and the smaller teen pulled out a list from his bag.

« Alright » he said « Let's get this over with »

Hiccup pointed the different isles to Jack, telling him what they needed in each of them. Needless to say, the white-haired boy was less than cooperative. He kept ignoring the brunet's orders to help him out, and barely answered with a shrug when asked to choose between two products.

After a couple of minutes, Hiccup gave up on the idea of getting any help from Jack, and decided to act like he wasn't there, nagging him as he followed him around.

« You're taking _that_? » Jack asked, picking up the cereal box the brunet had just put down in their cart.

« Yeah? » Hiccup asked, unsure of what the issue was.

« My god » the other grunted, holding the box at arm's length, looking disgusted « Never in my life have I ever seen a more cheap-looking thing… » He dropped the box back in the cart, and eyed the other products lying in it. « For the love of— Are you _allergic_ to quality products? »

« Well _excuse_ me » the brunet hissed « Not everyone has your financial wealth, Ô Mighty Jack » he slapped the box Jack was holding back in the cart « Sorry if I can't afford any fancy products, I'm still repaying my student loan, jackass » he glared daggers at the boy « And need I remind you that I also have to provide for the _freeloader_ that's crashing my guest bedroom? »

That part wasn't exactly true. All of Jack's expenses would be repaid by his company by the end of the month. But it wasn't Jack's money, and at least that last comment managed to get his point across. Jack rolled his eyes, dragging his feet on the squeaky floor as Hiccup returned to pushing the cart down the isles, all the while complaining about the taller teen's behavior.

« Seriously, get you head out of your ass, Frost » Hiccup huffed, grabbing a few products from the shelves and putting them down in the cart « You can't just expect everyone to have the financial stability of a freaking rock star. Some of us out here have it pretty hard. Not everyone has the chance of having mommy and daddy behind us to bend to our every will. »

He kept on talking for a while, eyes darting from his grocery list to the shelves, grabbing what he needed and stopping from time to time to compare prices, all the while rambling and complaining about life as a broke student.

After a few minutes, he noticed the old lady staring at him in confusion from across the isle. She seemed a bit worried, and Hiccup groaned, turning around to see what mess Jack had caused, _again_. But, much to his surprise, there was no sign of the white-haired man.

An alarm went off in the brunet's mind, and he dashed down the isles, abandoning his cart for the time being. He ran through the shop, scanning every corner in hope of spotting Jack, but to no avail. As he was about to inform the security, he finally noticed the mop of white hair sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of the frozen section.

« Jack! » Hiccup yelled, catching up with the boy « Where the f— »

The brunet shut up just in time when he saw that Jack wasn't alone. The white-haired teen was crouched in front of a little girl with long blonde hair falling over puffy red eyes. Her tiny hands were clasped on a tattered stuffed rabbit, holding it for protection.

« Who's that? » Hiccup asked, leaning towards the girl « Is she crying? Jack, did you make her— »

« I didn't do _anything_ » Jack hissed at the accusation.

Hiccup noticed that, although his voice was as harsh as always during their arguments, the taller teen was making an effort to keep his tone low, in hope that it wouldn't freak out the child more than she already was.

« I saw her alone, crying, and I came over to help » the boy added, reporting his attention to the little girl « I think she lost her mother » he said. The girl nodded, and Jack gave her a warm smile. « What's your name, kiddo? » he asked, grabbing her free hand and wiping his other thumb on her cheek, brushing the tears away.

« Sophie Bennett » the child said proudly, exposing her missing teeth as she grinned.

« Well well, Sophie » Jack smiled « I'm Jack, and Mr. Gumpy-Face over here is Hiccup » the child giggled, and the singer let out a laugh of his own « How about we help you find your mommy, okay? » The child nodded actively, and Jack stood up. « You stay with her » he said, turning to Hiccup « And I'll go make an announcement at the front desk »

He was about to walk away when he was caught off by a whine. Turning around, he saw Sophie grabbing onto the hem of his jeans, eyes pleading and filled with tears once again.

« I don't think she really likes me » Hiccup pointed out.

« Well, I guess I'll come with you, then » Jack laughed.

With a smile, he scooped Sophie off the floor, and settled her on his shoulders, earning a joy-filled laugh from the child. Hiccup walked behind, watching carefully as Jack ran down the isles, making ' _woosh_ ' noises to entertain the girl. When they reached the front desk, Sophie was holding onto Jack's hair, babbling about one thing or another as the white-haired teen nodded and answered like he understood every last word of her childish nonsense.

« Sophie! » a cry came from the desk, and the little girl started wiggling on Jack's shoulder when she spotted the woman in her early thirties rushing towards them.

« Mommy! » she called.

Jack lifted the child off his shoulders, and gently put her down on the floor, laughing when she stumbled towards her mother, who picked her up into a tight hug.

« Oh Sophie I was so worried, where have you been? »

« I was with Jack! » Sophie smiled, and the woman finally seemed to notice the two teens standing next to them.

« Oh! » the mother gasped, immediately recognizing Jack. « Thank you so much for helping my Sophie » she said, holding onto the girls hand as she took a step towards the boys « I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble. »

« No, don't worry » Jack shook his head, offering a stunning grin « I'm just glad we managed to find you quickly »

The woman nodded, and seemed to ponder for a second, looking embarrassed as she carefully scanned Jack's face.

« I don't mean to sound rude » she said « But you look an awful lot like this singer my son is crazy about »

« Yeah » Jack nodded « That's probably me, I'm Jack Frost »

« Oh goodness! » she gasped again, holding a hand in front of her mouth before pulling a notepad out of her bag « Would it be completely inappropriate to— »

« Not at all » he smiled, taking the pad from her and scribbling a few words on it, giving her his best smile when she snapped a picture on her phone.

« Thank you so much » she smiled « Jamie is going to be so happy about this! ». Jack nodded, and leaned down to ruffle Sophie's hair, smiling when he earned a giggled from the girl.

« Now be good, Soph' » he said « Don't go running off like that again ». The child laughed, and her mother smiled fondly at them, scooping the girl up in her arms.

« Thank you again for helping my daughter » she said « I don't know what I would've done without you »

« Don't worry about it » Jack shrugged « It was my pleasure »

The two boys said their goodbyes as Sophie's mother carried her out of the shop, the girls waving her rabbit around. They didn't move until the automatic doors closed behind them and they both disappeared into the parking lot.

« So » Jack said, massaging his shoulders as he turned back to Hiccup « _Please_ tell me we're almost done with this »

As they walked back to their cart, Hiccup stared at the white-haired boy with an eyebrow raised, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Of all people, Jack was the last person he'd expected to be good with children. With the shitty manners and provoking attitude he usually displayed, Hiccup had assumed Jack wouldn't stand being around kids, let alone be able to interact with toddlers without having them screaming bloody murder. The brunet found strange how he seemed to have discovered an unexpected aspect of Jack's personality.

Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

« Hurry up » Jack urged « I want to get this poor-people shopping over with, and _quick_ »

Or maybe he was.


	5. Lazy Saturday Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song in this chapter is "Voices in the Halls" by Neon Trees.

That Saturday, Hiccup was awoken by the soft glow of the late morning sun filtering through the curtains of his window, bathing the room in its light. The brunet steered in his bed, rolling on his back and stretching his arms over his head with a satisfied groan. At the sound of his master coming to life, Toothless jumped up, pacing around the bed with excited yelps.

« Good morning, bud » Hiccup greeted, reaching out to pet the dog, who instantly nuzzled the boy's hand.

When Toothless licked his palm, the brunet chuckled and withdrew his hand, wiping it on the bed covers. Glancing at his clock, he saw that it was almost 10 am, meaning he had slept in longer than he'd intended to. Not that he had anything planned for the day. Hiccup just wasn't one to laze around all day, even on his free time.

Throwing his legs over the covers, the brunet shivered when the morning chill came biting his skin. He pushed himself off the bed, tangling his fingers in his messy locks as he dragged his feet across the room.

« Want some breakfast, bud? » he asked as he came out of the room, making his way to the kitchen with the dog following closely behind, giving a bark of approval.

In the kitchen, Hiccup pulled out a clean plate and a can of dog food, peaking into the living-room when he heard a couple of voices. Jack was sitting on the couch, legs stretched out on the cushions, lazily flipping through the few TV channels he owned.

« Morning, sleeping ugly! » he greeted, smirking when he earned an annoyed groan from the smaller teen.

« You're awake? » the brunet asked, crunching his nose.

Seeing how much of a struggle waking Jack up had been during the week, he hadn't expected to see the boy conscious until later in the afternoon. Truthfully, Hiccup was a bit disappointed to see he would've have a bit of time of his own before the white haired teen came bothering him.

« I had a phone call to make, so I was up pretty early » Jack explained.

« Whoa » Hiccup clapped sarcastically, walking back to his breakfast « So even you can show some professionalism? » he called from the kitchen « Color me impressed »

« Hardy-har-har » the white-haired boy faked a laugh « Look who's being a sarcastic little shit so early in the morning »

Hiccup huffed, placing a plate of dog food on the floor, taking a step back when Toothless started swallowing it whole. His relationship with Jack hadn't progressed much since the beginning of the week. They still had troubles communicating like normal human beings. Astrid liked to compare them to two pissed-off cats hissing at each other. At least they could now exchange simple phrases without jumping at each other's throat.

Hiccup grabbed a few toasts for himself and joined Jack in the living-room, almost tripping over the edge of the coffee table when he walked around the sofa.

« Well look at that » Jack mocked « Seems like Mr. Tough Guy is actually pretty clumsy when he's still sleepy » Hiccup almost argued, but was cut off when he hit his calve on the edge of the table, groaning in pain. « See? » Jack laughed.

It was obvious he was dying to tell him ' _I told you so_ '. But if he refrained, the shit-eating grin he was wearing was saying it loud and clear.

Hiccup glared daggers at him, kicking him to the side of the sofa and taking a seat on the other edge. He snatched the remote control from the other's hands, changing the output and turning on the gaming console, reaching for the controller on the table.

« Dude! » Jack hissed « I was watching TV! »

« And now I'm playing » Hiccup shrugged, shooting the other a glare when the white-haired boy kicked his leg in frustration.

« Are you _serious_? » he spat, trying to get a hold of the remote, but Hiccup kept it out of his reach « For fuck's sake, man, I was there first! »

« Like I care » the brunet rolled his eyes « My home, my TV, my rules » the title screen loaded, and the smaller teen pointed at the second controller on the table « Now either grab a controller, or go mope somewhere else ».

Jack let out a groan, but got up to grab the second controller, crashing back on the sofa while the game loaded. It was a generic First-Person Shooter game, and soon enough the white-haired boy was familiar with the controls. Hiccup launched a new one-on-one game, and the two were thrown in different parts of an abandoned town, trying to track the other down.

Despite his many efforts, Jack was terrible at this game. After a dozen rounds, he'd been shot thirty times, and only managed to score a couple of kills.

« Okay, that's it » he hissed, throwing the controller on his lap « You're definitely cheating »

« I am _not_! » Hiccup rolled his eyes, slightly offended. « Face it, you just suck »

« Nuh-hu! » Jack shook his head vigorously « My character keeps freezing, your game is defective »

« Oh gods » the brunet gasped « I knew you were kind if bratty, I never thought you'd be such a sore loser! »

« I'm not— »

« Looooooooseeeeeeer » Hiccup cut him off, chuckling when Jack tried to hit him with a cushion.

The white-haired teen grunted, getting off the couch and abandoning the controller on the floor.

« What's that? » the smaller teen cooed, tilting his head to the side as he watched the other walk by « Did I offend you? Is that why you're pouting, big baby boo? »

Jack stomped out of the living-room, and Hiccup couldn't hold back a laugh when he heard the door of his room slam shut. Jack definitely wasn't very gracious in defeat.

After a couple of hours of solo-playing, Hiccup got bored and turned off the gaming device, deciding it was time to prepare lunch. He walked to the kitchen, poking his head into the hallway to see that Jack's bedroom door was still closed. Rolling his eyes, he went back to his cooking, the gnawing sensation in his stomach urging him to gulp down any kind of food, and fast. Toothless stayed within close distance to his master, giving him pleading looks in hope of being thrown a few scraps. Hiccup smiled, knowing his pet always went in a frenzy whenever he made fish-stew. The dog had strangely cat-like behaviors, sometimes.

Once the stew was on the stove, the brunet walked down the hall, resolved to put an end to the other teen's moping. He stopped in front of the bedroom, hand hovering over the door when he heard a soft sound coming from the inside. At first he'd thought Jack was talking to someone—or himself, most likely—but, leaning closer, he recognized the muffled sound of a guitar, and realized Jack was in fact singing.

Hiccup slowly pushed the door open, trying not to make a sound. He wasn't trying to hide, but he didn't feel like interrupting, either. Jack was sitting on the bed, back turned to the door, guitar in his lap as he strummed delicately, humming along a melody the brunet hadn't heard before.

« _I can taste your lemonade, bittersweet like every summer fling_ » Jack sung softly, his voice almost hushed into a whisper « _And keeping up with all your stories, talking to your ghost when I'm asleep_ »

« _No you're never really dead to me, maybe that's the mystery of us_ » his voice slowed down, so soft that Hiccup knew that, had he not been in the same room, he probably wouldn't have heard it. « _I use to think when you were gone, I would still hear voices in the halls_ »

Hiccup had never been fond of Jack's singing. His songs were tacky and loud, lacking originality or feelings. But this was different, he'd never heard the singer's voice trembling so much as he hummed.

« _I can feel the red rain on me, I can see you shaking when we kiss_ » his fingers tickled the chords, barely making any sound at all. « _You still hit me like a buzz, seventeen and drunk enough to wish_ »

He caught his breath again, sounding like his chest was unbearably heavy.

« _And you really got your hooks on me, maybe that's the punishment for love_ » he sung again « _I still stay up late at night, trying to hear your voices in the halls_ »

« _In the halls—_ » his voice dragged on, rising and dropping softly, singing the same phrase over and over again, breaking ever-so-slightly when he reached the end of the chorus. « _You can hear me late at night, singing to the voices in the halls_ »

« _Every time we drive the coast, heading towards Las Vegas in your car_ » Jack's head was hanging low as he sung, white bangs falling over his eyes « _Playing on your broken speakers, me asleep and warm inside your arms_ »

Hiccup listened quietly, back pressed against the door, as the other's voice rose slightly.

« _No it's never like what it used to be, maybe it's just never really was_ » It dropped again, barely a whisper anymore « _But every night when I get home, I can hear your voices in the halls_ »

Jack's voice broke again, caught in his throat as he managed to choke out the last lines.

« _Every night when I'm alone, I can hear your voices in the halls_ »

The boy's fingers slipped on the chords one last time, ending the melody and bringing the room into a nearly deafening silence. Hiccup stayed speechless for a while, unsure of what to do. When Jack's shoulders slumped down, and he set the guitar aside with a sigh, the brunet cleared his throat softly, making his presence known.

The white-haired boy jumped, head snapping into Hiccup's direction, trying to shoot him a glare despite his slightly reddened cheeks.

« That was different » the smaller teen stated. « Your other songs don't usually sound like that »

Jack didn't bother teasing the brunet about the fact that he _knew_ about his other songs. It was nearly impossible to turn on the radio without having the latest hit single from the Guardians playing over and over again.

« Yeah » the agreed bitterly, frowning and picking up the guitar defensively « Sorry if this didn't sound like my usual rubbish commercial soup »

« I didn't say that » Hiccup shook his head, sitting on the edge of the bed, on the opposite side of Jack. « It was nice »

« Thanks » the other hesitated.

« Well, you know, for rubbish commercial soup »

Jack chuckled slightly, rolling his eyes. He had walked right into that one.

« I though you liked your songs » Hiccup asked « You're the one writing them, aren't you? »

« Yeah, well » the singer shrugged « It was fun at first, but after a while I've been sorta forced to stick to that trashy image the studio had fabricated for me »

« I didn't think that was a persona you made up » the brunet admitted. « You seemed so confident on the stage, I just assumed that was… you »

« Everyone does » Jack smiled sadly to himself, letting out a breathy, humorless laugh « But despite what you might think, I'm not all about the crazy parties and cheap one-night-stands »

Hiccup stayed silent for a while, guilt taking over him. It just dawned on him that he had in fact judged the singer based on counterfeited images he'd seen on TV. He had just assumed that Jack was this low-life jock, addicted to obnoxious parties and meaningless sex. Sure, the guy was an ass, and had quite a bit of an attitude, but other than that, Jack had been nothing but decent all that time. Thinking back on it, he had acted nothing like what Hiccup had seen on TV.

« Sorry » the brunet muttered, lips pressed into a thin line as his eyes dung deeper into the mattress, avoiding the other's gaze.

« It's not your fault » Jack ran his hand in his hair, tangling his fingers in his white locks, looking down on his ankles « And, you know, it didn't use to bother me that much » he sighed « It's just that… I'm not sure I enjoy being Jack Frost anymore »

« Then why don't you change? » Hiccup asked, looking up to the other, puzzled by the revelation « You're a part of the band, too, I'm sure the others would understand »

Jack laughed darkly. « I'm sure they would » he shook his head « Our producer… Not so much »

The brunet raised an eyebrow, pressing the singer to explain what he meant.

« Mr. Black » Jack said « He's in charge of the band, and the only thing that matters to him is how much money he can drain out of us »

« And you don't think he'd want you to change? »

« I know he wouldn't » Jack brought his legs closer to his chest « He's only interested in tacky, obnoxious Jack Frost, with trashy clothes and a thing for wild parties. Boring, old Jackson Overland, former country-boy from a broken home… Doesn't sound as appealing, now does it? »

Hiccup stayed silent for a while. It was hard to take in the fact that everything he knew about the famous celebrity Jack Frost was in fact a lie. But he knew how it felt to have to pretend to be someone you're not just to please someone else, he'd done that enough for his father. At least the brunet didn't have to put up the act with the whole world watching his every move.

« Well, for what it's worth, I enjoy the _Jackson_ style a lot more… But, that's just me, what do I know… » he said, bitting his lips when Jack only shrugged. « And also, your producer seems like a pain in the ass » he added, chuckling when he finally managed to bring a smile to the other's lips.

« You have no idea » Jack laughed « North calls him the _Boogeyman_ »

« Fitting » The two teens laughed softly, still sitting on the bed next to each other. Jack had never told anyone how he felt, the real reason behind his rebellion as Jack Frost. He hadn't planned on telling anyone, either. He certainly hadn't planned on telling his nag of a bodyguard, the guy who had been constantly at his throat ever since the first day they met.

But he felt relieved, now, having a bit of the weight taken off his shoulders. Hiccup hadn't laughed, or made fun of him. He hadn't called him too sensitive, or pried into details he didn't want to reveal. No, he'd been pretty understanding, helping him vent out a bit of the frustration.

The whole thing could've gone a lot worse.

Jack looked up to the brunet fiddling with the hem of the bedsheets. He vaguely wondered why he had blurted everything out to that guy he barely knew. Not even his fellow band members knew about how he felt. But somehow it felt alright that Hiccup knew. Hiccup with the snarky attitude and smart-mouthed comebacks. Hiccup with the short temper and annoying wit. Hiccup with the messy mop of brunet hair, and emerald green eyes that seem to always bear that sharp glint that pissed Jack off so much. Hiccup with the freckled-painted face and buck-teethed mouth always twisted into that sly grin of his.

Yes, Hiccup wasn't the person Jack enjoyed being around of the most, but he was probably the ideal person to confide into.

Which didn't make him any less of an arrogant smart-ass and cocky, infuriating prick.

Jack opened his mouth, fighting to find something to say, a way to maybe thank the brunet for listening. But he was cut off when he was hit by the sickening smell of burnt fish coming from the kitchen. Hiccup seemed to notice as well, because he jumped off the bed, running down the hall, gasping about forgetting to turn off the stove.

The white-haired singer chuckled when he heard the tap water running, and the smaller teen cursing to the gods from the kitchen while he tried fixing the mess he'd made. Jack picked up his guitar, a smile to his lips as he strummed softly, playing a more lively melody than before, singing a song about freckles.


	6. Feels Like A Thursday Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra chapter coming up next!

To say that Hiccup felt like shit when he woke up that Tuesday morning was quite an understatement. His head was fuzzy, and the nagging sound of his alarm clock seemed muffled and far away—but still loud enough to worsen his throbbing headache—like if he was hearing it with his head under water.

The brunet painfully pulled himself out of bed, too out of it to enjoy Toothless' happy antics around him. He barely petted the dog, and went to examine himself in the full-length mirror behind his bedroom door. What he saw in there was worse than what he expected.

Apparently, not only did he feel like crap, he looked the part too. His eyes were puffy and red, circled by dark bags under his lids. His mouth was furred and dry, his lips chapped. He had troubles focusing his eyes on a single point—everything around him faded out in a fuzzy haze—and the room started spinning an awful lot when he did. Without even touching his skin, the boy could feel heat radiating from his body, and it was easy to see that he was burning up.

Hiccup let out a groan, using his desk as a support to stay up and steady. He couldn't afford to be sick. Not now that college was showering him with assignment deadlines, and especially not now that he had Jack on his arms to take care off.

Walking to the tiny apartment bathroom, he inspected the mirror cabinet over the sink, searching the few medicines he had in there. Unfortunately, it held nothing that could bring his fever down. Sighing, the brunet swallowed a couple of painkillers, hoping it would at least help him stay conscious until the end of the day.

When he and Jack arrived in front of the college campus, about an hour later, Hiccup started feeling nauseous. The medicine had kicked in a bit, and if his fever was still there, at least he looked a little less undead than before. Apparently, the brunet was pretty decent when it came to pretending to be healthy, because Jack hadn't suspected a thing so far. Now, Hiccup knew that the actual challenge would be convincing Astrid.

Sure enough, the blonde girl came running to the two boys when she spotted them in the halls, but stopped dead on her tracks when she laid eyes on Hiccup's poorly hidden state.

« Hiccup, you don't look too good » she said, « Are you okay? »

« Hm? » the brunet questioned, trying to look innocent « I'm fine Astrid »

Unfortunately, the girl wasn't that easily fooled. She narrowed her eyes, crossing the short distance between them and slamming her hand on the boy's forehead.

« Hiccup! » she gasped, pulling her hand away like she had gotten severely hurt « You're burning up! »

« I told you, I'm fine Astrid, it's just a bit of a fever, it'll pass »

« It's not fine! » she hissed « You need to go lie down before you collapse! »

« I'm not collapsing, I'm fine. »

Jack's eyes had kept darting from one to the other during their exchange, and he finally took in the brunet's appearance. 

« Dude, she's right » he said, nodding towards Astrid « Your eyes are all glassy, you look like shit. »

« Thanks. » Hiccup hissed, venom lacing his words.

« You have to go home and rest! » Astrid spoke again. « You're in no shape to attend your lectures! » She turned to Jack, her concerned eyes hardening when she laid them on the white-haired man. « And you. » she spat « It's partly your fault if he's like that. » She jabbed a finger in his chest, accusing words spilling out. « He overworked himself because he had to babysit you. You couldn't cut him some slack, could you? »

« Hey! » Jack frowned, slapping the girls hand away and taking a step forwards, unintimidated. « I've got nothing to do with this! »

« Guys, guys! » Hiccup called, trying to grab Jack's arm, but his head spun and he missed it by a couple of inches. The boy quickly hid his arm behind his back, hoping the two were too busy strangling themselves to notice. « I'm fine, let's just head to class, okay? »

The brunet didn't wait for an answer, and he walked inside the classroom, trying to hide the fact that the two teen's ruckus had worsened his headache.

After that, Jack spent the entire morning nagging his bodyguard to go home. Hiccup kept refusing, saying he was feeling fine and accused the white-haired man of only caring about ditching his lectures.

« For the last time we're not going back! » the brunet hissed, but his voice was far too weak to be convincing.

In truth, he felt his state worsen by the minute, though he'd never admit it to Jack.

« Why are you being so stubborn? » Jack threw his arms in the air « You're sick, you need to go lie down before you collapse »

« I'm not going to colla— » the boy's arguments were cut short when he violently rammed into another student, sputtering an apology before glaring towards Jack, who was eyeing him arrogantly. « Not gonna collapse. » Hiccup repeated.

The both walked into the cafeteria, and the smaller teen felt his head spin at the sight of so many people. The room was packed, and he'd have to stay standing up for at least a good twenty minutes to get his lunch. He gulped, ignoring his dizziness and nodding towards the queue.

« Let's go, I'm starving. »

Thirty-five minutes later, both teens were seated in an isolated part of the cafeteria. Jack pulled a face as he poked at the content of his plate, barely hiding his disgust for the industrial, processed food served by the bitter old ladies behind the counters.

« I don't know how you people eat this every day » he said, shuddering, and he could've sworn he saw something move amongst the shredded meat bits of his meal.

« Quit being so picky » Hiccup ordered, rolling his eyes.

« I'm not being picky » the white haired man shook his head, pushing the plate away and taking a bite of a somewhat edible waffle. « I just prefer food that does not come from forgotten military supplies from the 40's. »

The brunet ignored him, focusing on his own plate. Jack was right, the food here was disgusting—even after a couple of ears, he still hadn't gotten used to the lingering taste of iron and burnt plastic that every single ingredient seemed to hold—and it certainly did not help that he had to focus very hard to keep the already poor content of his stomach down his throat.

The boy picked up his fork, approaching a mouthful of whatever was in his plate (what was that?), but instantly gagged when to food made contact with his tongue. " _Looks like I'm not eating today_ " Hiccup pushed his plate away, trying to calm the twisting and turning of his stomach. Gods, even just the smell made him feel sick.

After twenty minutes of staring-contest with his lunch, during which Jack was nagging about poor nutrition in college restaurants—he certainly wasn't going to maintain his healthy superstar image by eating this kind of crap—Hiccup felt his phone buzzing in his front pocket, indication that Astrid was done with her lecture, and it was time for the three of them to head to their next class.

« Hey _Ramsey_ » the brunet called, catching Jack's attention « Lunch's over, pick up your things, we're going. »

Jack groaned, feeling no motivation to attend yet another boring lecture on mechanics— _engineering_ , Hiccup always growled—but stood up nonetheless, leaving his tray behind for the smaller teen to pick up. Hiccup rolled his eyes, grabbed his bag on the floor and stood up, but the entire room started spinning around him, and he had to clasp his hands on the table, leaning over it to catch his breath the best he could.

« Hey » Jack called, walking back to the table when he saw that the brunet hadn't followed him « What are you doing? » He raised an eyebrow, noticing the boy's awkward position and erratic breathing « Dude, are you alright? »

« I'm fine » Hiccup shook his head, straightening his back. He turned around and shoved a tray in the white-haired boy's arms « I'm just fed up of acting like your maid. »

The taller teen eyed the other carefully as he walked a few steps behind him, amongst the crowd of lunch rush hour. Hiccup's footing seemed wobbly, his body swaying dangerously with every step. Jack was about to call him out and confront him about his current state—the last thing he wanted was for the brunet to collapse. But sure enough, with the next step he took, Hiccup tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, only be caught in extremist by Jack—turning a few heads when their trays crashed on the tiles—before his head hit the ground.

« Hiccup? » the white-haired teen called, shaking the limp form slightly. His hand reached the brunet's forehead, and Jack immediately hissed.

The boy was boiling hot! He must've been trying to hold it in all morning, and finally had reached his breaking point.

« Fuck » Jack cursed, trying to hold the smaller teen up.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Hiccup hated those nights where he couldn't fall asleep. Where everything was just too hot, or too cold, and just felt plain odd. Those nights where he didn't know what to do with his hands, where his arms got in the way and where he became painfully aware of my legs.

He hated those nights where he felt numb, and exhausted. Where his eyes burnt behind his heavy eyelids, but as soon as he tried to close them they snapped open again. He hated those nights where his body turned against him, and he was just struggling to calm down, to stop thinking, to shut up.

He was exhausted but couldn't sleep. Why couldn't he sleep? It was like his brain was on overdrive but didn't do much. It just kept him awake. And, the more the night went on, the harder it got. He struggled and felt guilty because he knew I was going to be a mess the next morning.

And he was just too fucking tired.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

When Hiccup finally pulled himself back into consciousness, he felt a vague wave of confusion and worry crash over him. He sat up quickly—making his head spin even faster—and looked around his surroundings. Why was he in his bedroom? How did he get in his bed? He didn't remember much; only a faint memory of Jack nagging over a disgusting lunch. He could recall going to class that morning, but that was it. The rest was pretty much a haze.

Hiccup sat up slightly, hand covering his eyes from the glaring sun outside. From what he could see, it was already late afternoon, and the boy had no idea how long he had been asleep. Carefully pulling himself out of bed, the brunet wobbled his way to the living room.

« Jack? » he called, looking around the corner, into the kitchen.

No one answered, and Hiccup went to knock on the white-haired boy's bedroom door. Once, twice, still no answer.

« Jack, I'm coming in » he announced, pushing the door open slightly.

Hiccup poked his head into the room, and felt his stomach drop when he saw no one in there. He ran back into the living room, frantically looking around, calling the other boy's name over and over again.

« Shit! » he cursed, collapsing on the couch.

He had been reckless. He had left home despite his fever, he had collapsed after one of his classes, and now Jack was missing.

Hiccup felt his hands shaking, having no idea what to do next. He didn't know where Jack had gone to or when he had left. Even if he could go after him himself, it could take him hours to cover the neighborhood.

Taking deep breaths, trying to calm down, the brunet pulled out his cellphone. Maybe Jack would answer his phone, everything would be okay. The phone rang, again and again, until a dull tone ended the call. Hiccup was about to make up his mind and call someone—Astrid, his father, the police, anyone—for help, when he heard the front door open and close.

He dropped his phone, and turned around to see Toothless rushing towards him, offering a few excited barks to greet his master. Behind him, Jack was taking off his shoes, a paper bag stuck in between his teeth.

« Jack! » Hiccup called out, causing the taller teen to lift his head in surprise « Where the fuck have you been? » He hissed, rushing to the boy.

Jack raised an eyebrow, standing up a bit, taking a step back when Hiccup nearly ran into him.

« I went out for a minute » the boy said, confused « I didn't expect you to be flipping your lid when I'd come back »

« You weren't there when I woke up! » Hiccup spat « I had no idea where you went and you didn't answer your fucking phone! »

« My hands were full » Jack pointed towards the paper bad and leash in his hand « Your demon dog wouldn't stop pulling on the leash »

He glared at the dog, who only answered with a happy pant and wag of the tail.

« You shouldn't have gone out alone! » the brunet snapped. « I'm supposed to be with you whenever you leave the house »

« Yeah well you weren't exactly up for the task » Jack growled, getting increasingly annoyed « You were kinda passed out on your bed, if I recall correctly »

« Then you should've stayed in! » Hiccup threw his hands in the air « What could possibly be so important that you needed to— »

The brunet was cut off when Jack shoved the paper back in his chest, hard enough for him to stumble back a little. The white-haired man glared, spitting a few words before going back into his room.

« Fine, whatever »

Hiccup flinched when the door slammed shut, and glanced curiously towards at the bag. He opened it and saw a couple of boxes sitting in it. Pulling one out, the brunet realized they were cold medicine. He growled, wanting nothing more than to hit his forehead on the wall.

Sighing through his teeth, the boy walked up to Jack's room and knocked slowly.

« Jack? » he asked, pushing the door open.

The white-haired man was lying on his back, feet dangling from the edge of the bed, an arm thrown over his face.

« Jack » Hiccup whispered again « I'm sorry for lashing out at you like that, I didn't know you had… well… »

« Forget it » the teen stopped him. He sat up, but didn't look at the brunet standing in the doorframe. « I though I'd give a hand, y'know… »

« Sorry » the smaller boy nodded « It's just… » he had a dry laugh « You scared the living hell out of me »

« Yeah » Jack finally looked up « I should have left a note » he rolled his eyes when Hiccup gave a nod « I didn't think you'd wake up » Jack shrugged « I wasn't even gone for 20 minutes, and I took Toothless with me just in case »

« Yeah… I might have freaked out and overreacted a little » the brunet chuckled « Just a bit »

« Just a bit » the other repeated with a laugh of his own.

Silence fell between the two, until Hiccup lifted the paper bag and smiled at Jack.

« Thanks » he said, his voice barely over a whisper.

« Yeah well… » Jack stood up, snatching the bag out of the brunet's hands « Let's get you fixed up before you start fainting again »

« I didn't— »

The white-haired boy laughed and walked to the living room, where he ordered the smaller teen to take a seat on the couch. Hiccup raised an eyebrow but did as he was told, and watched Jack disappear into the kitchen. The boy came back a few minutes after, holding a tray with a glass of water, a few medicine tabs, and a smoking bowl. He set it on the coffee table, and handed Hiccup the glass and pills, which he promptly swallowed. Jack took the bowl in his hand, and looked at it sheepishly before handing it to the brunet as well.

« The pharmacist said that you should eat hot food, so I… » his hand reached the back of his neck, and he looked away « I tried making soup »

Hiccup's eyes widened, and he glanced down at the bowl in his hands, then back at the white-haired boy who still refused to meet his eyes. The brunet lifted a spoonful of soup to his lips, and nearly gaged when the liquid made contact with his tongue. The soup was boiling hot, but the burn barely distracted from the awful taste. Clearly, Jack had met some difficulties in the making of instant soup.

Hiccup coughed, but swallowed nonetheless, forcing a smile on his lips and faking a content moan. He wasn't about to shoot down the only effort in being nice the taller teen had made since they met.

Jack finally lifted his head, a shy smile stretching his lips when he saw the brunet gulp down the entire bowl—the taste definitely wasn't as bad if he held his breath. The boy finally finally put down the bowl, wiping his lips with the back of his hands, praying to the gods that Jack wouldn't insist on pouring him a second serving. The white-haired teen was staring at his hands, and both stayed in silence for a couple of minutes, until Hiccup finally spoke up.

« Thanks. » he said, his voice soft and his words genuine.

Jack nodded, and and awkward silence settled once more. Trying to ease things up a bit, the brunet nudged the other slightly with his elbow, letting out a small chuckle.

« You know » he laughed « You were probably the last person I'd have expected to nurse me back to health »

« Yeah, well... » Jack shrugged, and Hiccup could see the distinct smirk at the corner of his lips « Don't get too excited. Maybe I poisoned the soup to finally get you off my back. »

The brunet snorted, pleased to see that Jack was relaxing a bit, but the boy still seemed a little tense, like he was trying to hold himself back from saying something.

« You, err... » he ran his fingers in his hair, looking down at his lap, fiddling with the hem of his blue hoodie. « You kinda started speaking in your sleep. » he said « I wasn't eavesdropping or anything, but when I came in to check on your fever you were mumbling and, err... » he hesitated « You said something about your mother, and you kinda started crying. »

Hiccup tensed up, and Jack was sitting close enough to feel it. He lifted his head to glance at the boy, who was staring blanking at the wall in front of them, his hands tightly clutching the fabric of his clothes.

« I don't want to talk about it. » he said coldly.

Jack frowned, biting his lips to keep himself from asking further questions. He had guessed that this would be a sensitive subject, but he hadn't expected the brunet to clam up like that.

« Fine, yeah. » he brushed it off, a little irritated, and stood up, gathering the empty dishes on the tray. « You don't have to tell me, it's not like we're friends anyway » 

Hiccup flinched a little at those words. They weren't necessarily wrong, but the bitterness in Jack's voice stung a little.

« You should go back to bed. » the white-haired boy said blankly, back turned « If your fever gets any worse by tomorrow you'll have to call a doctor. »

With those words, he left. Hiccup grabbed a pillow from the sofa and buried his face in it, letting out a muffled groan. Jack had finally tried to open up a bit, and it was the first time since he moved in that he hadn't acted like a total prick. But Hiccup's incapability to function like a normal human being had caused him to ruin it all.

« Great job, Hiccup » the boy mumbled to himself « Way to fuck everything up... »


	7. Jack Frost Nipping at your Nose (Extra)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important note: This chapter does NOT follow the plot-line of the story! It's just an extra chapter I chose to set in the same AU, but whatever happens here will not affect the rest of the plot (sorry, I guess?). 
> 
> This is basically just a little Christmas-themed snippet as a (late) gift to all of you guys, because you're all amazing and I love you so so much!
> 
> I also apologize in advance for all the singing (songs will be detailed in the note at the bottom).

Hiccup panted heavily, bending over the coffee table, droplets of sweat slipping down his neck.

« Are we done yet? » he huffed, massaging the sore muscles of his shoulders, turning around to face Jack, who had just walked in carrying two large cardboard boxes.

The white haired man huffed and dropped them on top of the other boxes piling in the living room, next to the sofa, where three piles almost reached the ceiling. Hiccup made sure to stand as far as possible from the unsteady towers, in case one of the boxes fell over—not weighing much himself, it wouldn't take a lot to crush him to his death.

« Nah » Jack groaned, stretching his arms above his head « North's coming up with at least three more »

Hiccup let out a moan, rubbing his face in exhaustion. « You know… I'd have never thought that there was such a thing as " _too Christmassy_ " » he air-quoted « But there's a line and I think North crossed it after the twelfth box. »

« C'mon, man! » Jack chuckled « Where's your holiday spirit? »

« Jack, you do realize that this is a very tiny apartment and that the tree alone takes up half of the living room? »

« Boys! » a booming voiced burst through the door, and the two teens turned around to see North walking into the hallway with two huge cardboard boxes on each arm. « Come help, would you? »

Jack rushed to his manager's side, but was almost toppled over when the large man dropped an even larger box into his arms.

« Are there any more? » Hiccup asked, too worried about the answer to make fun of Jack.

« No, that was last box » North laughed.

The brunet let out a somewhat relieved sigh. He rubbed his face with the palm of one hand, and the other pulled up the pyjama bottoms hanging low on his hips.

North had woken them at dawn, barging in without notice, and had ordered the two boys to help him out with the decorations. Jack had—surprisingly—complied without too much struggle, and the three of them had been unloading North's pick-up truck in the freezing December cold for the passed half-hour, walking up and down the narrow stairs of the building, carrying boxes twice their size. Well, twice Hiccup's size, at least.

Hiccup knew he could count himself lucky if he didn't catch pneumonia before lunch. He could already feel the back of his throat itching.

« I still don't see why we had to wake up so early... » the boy mumbled to himself.

« Because we have a lot to do! » North exclaimed, opening the boxes one after another. He set aside six large ones labelled "exterior" and pointed and the teens. « You boys take care of Christmas tree. I go put up everything outside now! »

The brunet frowned, and almost stopped him to say that he wasn't the only one living in the building and it'd probably be best not to go too _wild_ on the decorating. But what good would've that done? North was obviously not in the mood to listen to any of his objections.

The door slammed shut, and Hiccup was left alone with Jack, who was already emptying a box-full of multicolored tinsels.

« That man is impossible » the brunet stated « No one can be that jolly, not even around Christmas... »

« North is the living impersonation of Christmas. » Jack nodded without looking up from his box « He probably bleeds red and green. »

« You know... It's probably gonna sound stupid but he does kind of look like Santa Claus… » _If Santa had been hired as a gunman by the Russian mob_. That last comment he chose to keep to himself.

Jack chuckled « I know, right! » his smile softened into a nostalgic one. « Before the band got really popular and we all got too busy, North used to tour around children's hospitals dressed up as Santa to cheer up the kids. »

Hiccup bit his lip for hold back a laugh. He would easily picture the jolly man handing candies to the kids and asking them if they hand been naughty or nice. Aside from the obvious innuendoes, it was a really sweet image.

« Let me guess » the brunet joked « He made you tag along, dressed as an elf? » When Jack didn't answer and sheepishly looked away, red tinting his pale cheeks slightly, Hiccup's emerald eyes widened. « Oh dear Gods! » he gasped « He did! »

Jack groaned and hid his face in his hands as the smaller teen toppled over in a fit of laughter, giving him his middle finger—along with a torrent of mumbled insults—when he refused to stop.

« That's why you chose Jack Frost as a stage name! » Hiccup kept laughing, gasping for air and his ribs started to hurt. « You named yourself after the winter elf! »

« I absolutely did _not_! » the white-haired boy hissed, throwing a Christmas ornament in the smaller teen's direction. « Besides, he's a winter _spirit_ , not an elf » he mumbled to himself.

Wrong move. That last statement only doubled the brunet's hilarity, and he fell flat on the sofa, laughing and snorting until he couldn't even make a sound.

After a solid five minutes, Hiccup's laughter slowly subsided into a faint chuckle now-and-then. Finally, he wiped the tears that had formed in the corner of his eyes, and sat up, gaze still on Jack.

The taller teen had grown increasingly annoyed, and finally spoke up, though his eyes were stuck on the fairy lights he was currently untangling.

« Are you going to help me or are you just gonna stand there gaping like a moron? » he grumbled.

Hiccup chuckled slightly, but stood up nonetheless and went to sit next to Jack, helping him out with the knots. 

« I was just kidding » the brunet nudged him « It's okay to like Christmas. »

Seeing how Jack was still pouting, Hiccup bit his lip pensively and cleared his throat.

« You know » he started, a rosy hue making its way on his cheeks « When I was younger my family used to be just as enthusiastic as North, probably even more » he smiled softly in reminiscence « We used to put up Christmas lights everywhere inside and outside the house. No place was safe! » Jack still didn't look up. « My dad used to throw huge parties at home, and we'd all celebrate together. Except, having the Viking heritage we have and whatnot, we never used to call it Christmas… » Finally, a curious eyebrow was raised and the white-haired boy glanced towards the brunet as he admitted « We called it Snoggletog »

Jack coughed, bursting into laughter. « You called it _what_? » he gasped.

« Snoggletog » Hiccup repeated « Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, it was a ridiculous name. »

After a while, Jack finally stopped laughing, and they both smiled softly. Hiccup was pleased to see that the white-haired man had gotten over his embarrassment. As much as he would've loved teasing Jack some more—Oh, how he wanted to ask about the elf costume!—they had a lot of work ahead of them, and Jack sulking would be quite the mood-killer.

Both teens kept working in comfortable silence, sometimes coming up with a festive anecdote—Hiccup running off to chase trolls on New Year's Eve, Jack going caroling with North—from when they were younger.

Hiccup could easily tell how excited Jack got around Christmas. He usually complained about doing any kind of manual labor, but now he seemed more than pleased to take part in the decorating. The brunet noticed how Jack's legs kept bouncing up and down slightly as he untangled the lights. Hiccup had never seen him quite that fidgety, and with that dorky smile stuck on his lips, the teen seemed so much younger.

The smaller boy smiled, giving into the festive mood as he finally managed to overcome the last knot.

« Give me that box » Jack asked, pointing at the large cardboard box they had just finished taking care of « We're gonna put up the fairy lights first. »

Hiccup complied, and struggled to keep himself up as he handed the box to Jack. The white-haired boy thanked him with a warm smile.

The brunet kept himself from pulling a face—but hardly retained the shiver that ran up his spine. No matter how enjoyable it was, it still felt a little odd to see Jack in such an unusually good mood. Usually, their interactions lasted a little less then five minutes before one of them said the one wrong thing that'd start an argument, which often ended with one of the two storming out the room. This was here was different and refreshing, and as much as he hated to admit it, Hiccup did enjoy having a normal conversation with the other teen, but it still felt a little unnatural. The brunet was constantly on edge, waiting for the moment when Jack would snap out of his christmassy daze and launch himself at his throat.

They started putting up the lights in the enormous pine tree set in the corner of the living room—although it took a lot more space than just that; Jack taking care of those at the top. Hiccup, despite his complaints, had been proven too short for such a task.

While they were decorating the tree, Hiccup's head perked up when he heard the faint melody of a somewhat familiar song. Looking around, he noticed Jack tapping his foot in rhythm, and realized that he'd been the one humming. With a smile, the brunet recognized the song he'd heard his mother sing so many times before around that time of the year. He bit his lips and held back a chuckled when Jack's humming turned into a full-on singing.

« _The fire is slowly dying and, my dear, we're still goodbying_ » he sung, leaning forwards to hang the lights in the tree « _But as long as you love me so, Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!_ »

Hiccup laughed silently, watching Jack gradually really getting into the song, his body swaying in rhythm with his words. When he ended the song, the smaller teen let out a chuckled, earning a raised eyebrow and suspicious look from the other male.

« Impressive singing » the brunet teased, nudging Jack's side.

« I'd like to hear you do any better! » Jack smirked « If you even know the words, that is… »

« Who do you take me for? » Hiccup scoffed « The Grinch? Of course I know some Christmas songs! »

Jack tilted his head, giving the smaller boy a challenging look. Deciding if was best to just humor him, the brunet cleared his throat, turning his back at the white-haired boy and focusing on the pine tree as he sung;

« _Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose_ » Jack pulled a face at those words, and Hiccup kept singing, satisfied « _Yuletide carols being sung by a choir. And folks dressed up like Eskimos._ »

Hiccup's voice was far from being as harmonious as Jack's. It was rough, and sounded even more nasal than when he spoke. But he wasn't a bad singer, and his voice was—even if a little strange—in tune and not quite unpleasant to listen to.

« _Everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe, help to make the season bright. Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow, will find it hard to sleep tonight._ »

Jack chuckled. He hadn't heard that song in ages, and he had to admit that Hiccup knew all the words to it. If he didn't seem like it at first, it was obvious now—seeing him enjoy himself and singing wholeheartedly—that his bodyguard was still a little kid at heart.

« _They know that Santa's on his way; He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh. And every mother's child is gonna spy, to see if reindeer really know how to fly._ »

With a laugh, Jack joined him for the last verse. « **_And so I'm offering this simple phrase, to kids from one to ninety-two._ ** » Hiccup shot him a surprised look, but kept on singing nonetheless « **_Although its been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you._ ** »

As soon as the song was over, the two boys burst out laughing, the Christmas tree long forgotten.

« Okay kiddo, that wasn't half bad » Jack admitted, wiping a tear away.

« Why thank you! » Hiccup chuckled, giving a small bow, earning another laugh from the white-haired man.

The boy was about to make another comment when the front door opened, and North came into the apartment, snow falling from his shoulders.

« Boys! » he said, calling the two teens into the hall « Are you done with decorating? »

Jack shrugged « We're almost done with this », he pointed at the Christmas ornaments hanging from the branches of the pine tree in the living room.

« Good, good! » North laughed and clapped his hands. « You keep going, I take care of rest of apartment! » he said, before disappearing into another room with two large boxes in his hands.

By the time they were done decorating the apartment, the sun had started to set, bathing the place in hues for orange and red. Hiccup collapsed on the sofa with his face buried in a cushion. He let out a pained groan when Jack fell half on top of him, but gathered the strength to push him off. 

« I am never ever doing that again! » the brunet complained. « I never expected Christmas decorations to turn into a _hardcore_ sport. »

« Well, clearly you don't know North » Jack mumbled, still lying on the floor.

At the mention of his name, the large man came into the room, holding a platter overflowing with freshly baked cookies.

« Great job, boys! » he called. « Here's reward for you! »

Jack lifted his arms in the air, giving a half-hearted « _Yaay_ » as he painfully tried to sit up. Hiccup did the same, and soon they were gulping down the cookies one after the other.

« North, those are delicious! » Hiccup gasped with his mouth full, wiping the milk off of his upper lip with the back of his hand.

« Why thank you, Hiccup » North gave a satisfied smile, hands on his hips while he looked around the apartment that was now covered in lights and tinsels from ceiling to floor. « Jack, my boy » the man said « Help me bring the last boxes to my car, yes? »

The teen groaned as he stood up. Those boxes were freakishly heavy. Hiccup chuckled and grabbed a box at his feet, elbowing Jack's side when he walked by him.

« Come on » the brunet teased « I'll give you a hand »

One after the other, the boxes were brought down and stacked into the manager's car. Soon enough, the two teens were standing in the hallway with North holding the last box.

« Thanks for everything » the brunet smiled « The apartment has never seen so many decorations. » He chose not to mention that it probably had never seen electricity bills so high, either. After all, Christmas only came once a year, and it was nice to get into the holiday spirit, for once.

« Any time, my boy » North patted his shoulder, before turning to Jack. « Jack, you are sure you don't want to stay over at my place for holidays? »

« Nah » Jack shrugged « Anyway I'll see you at the party on Christmas Eve, North! »

« Yes, yes! » the man laughed « And you too, Hiccup! I talk to your dad, and you both come to party have drinks, okay? »

« If there's drinking involved, I'm sure my dad won't mind showing up! » the brunet joked.

« Good lad! You both take care now, alright? Be good! »

The bulky man waved—how he managed to do so with the boxes in his arms, no one will ever know—and the two teens did the same until his car had disappeared around the corner of the street.

Hiccup leaned against the door as soon as it was closed, and let out a relieved sigh. Although it was only the middle of the afternoon, the only thing one the brunet's mind was to take a shower and hop into bed. No one would make him get up again for at least three days.

Scratching the back of his neck, Jack walked back to the living room and took a bite into one of the remaining cookies on the platter as he looked around the room.

The apartment looked like a replica of the villages in Disney World around december. Fairy lights covered every single piece of furniture, diffusing a soft golden light. Tinsels were hanging from the curtains and ceiling, and various ornaments where scattered around the place. With the smell of cinnamon and chocolate oozing from the kitchen and filling the living room, it was impossible not to give into the Christmas spirit as soon as you stepped foot into the room.

As he walked around the room, Jack noticed a small box set next to the television screen. He picked it up and nearly chocked on his mouthful of cookies when he read the name on it.

« Oh my god! » he gasped.

Hiccup came running frantically into the living room, rushing to Jack's side in an attempt to see what the fuss was about. When he noticed the box in the white-haired man's hands, the brunet narrowed his eyes, trying to make sens of the words on the cover.

« What's that? » he asked. Jack turned around, a wide smile spread on his lips.

« North left a CD of Christmas songs! » he screamed, holding out the disc like it was the best thing in the world « That's so _awesome_! »

The smaller teen groaned. « No way, I've had enough Christmas fun for a lifetime! »

« Nuh-huh! » Jack shook his head, putting the CD into the player. « You just don't want to ambit that you don't know any of those songs! »

« What? » Hiccup snatched the box from Jack's hands, reading the track list on the back. « I know that one » he said, pointing at the first song.

« Everyone knows that song! » Jack scoffed, skipping the first three songs. « But let's see how well you know your classics! »

A smooth, jazzy tune filled the room, and Hiccup chuckled when Jack raised a daring eyebrow, nudging him forward. He cleared his throat.

« _I really can't stay—_ » the brunet sung in an hesitant voice.

« **Baby, it's cold outside** » Jack smirked, nodding his head in rhythm with the music while he sung the other part of the duet.

« _—I've got to go away_ »

« **Baby, it's cold outside** »

« _This evening has been—_

« **Been hoping that you'd drop in** »

_—So very nice_ »

« **I'll hold your hands, they're just like ice** »

« _My mother will start to worry_  »

« **Beautiful, what's your hurry?** »

« _My father will be pacing the floor_ »

« **Listen to the fire place roar** »

« _So really I'd better scurry—_

« **Beautiful, please don't hurry** »

_—But maybe just half a drink more_ »

« **Put some records on while I pour** »

The music took over again and the boys laughed. They clicked their glasses of milk together, and started circling around the room a little more loosely, feeling the familiar rhythm take over.

« _The neighbors might think_ » Hiccup sung a little louder, mimicking an exaggeratedly feminine faint and looking at the other male over his shoulder.

« **Baby, it's bad out there** » Jack laughed and decided to play along, enacting the song as well.

« _Say what's in this drink?_ »

« **No cabs to be had out there** »

« _I wish I knew how—_

« **Your eyes are like starlight now** »

_—To break this spell_ »

« **I'll take your hat, your hair looks swell** »

« _I ought to say no no no, Sir—_

**« Mind if I move in closer?** »

_—At least I'm gonna say that I tried_ »

« **What's the sense in hurting my pride?** »

« _I really can't stay_ »

« **Baby, don't hold out** »

« _**Baby it's cold outside**_ »

With a laugh, Jack held out a hand ceremoniously, pulling the smaller teen flat against his chest when he took it. They danced to the smooth beat of the song, Jack's free hand settled on the brunet's hipbone when he wasn't making him spin around with a burst of laughter.

« _I simply must go_ »

« **Baby, it's cold outside** »

« _The answer is "No"_ »

« **But, baby, it's cold outside** »

« _This welcome has been—_

« **How lucky that you dropped in** »

_—So nice and warm_ »

« **Look out the window at that storm** »

« _My sister will be suspicious_ »

« **Gosh your lips look delicious** »

« _My brother will be there at the door_ »

« **Waves upon a tropical shore** »

« _My maiden aunt's mind is vicious_ »

« **Gosh your lips are delicious** »

« _But maybe just a cigarette more_ »

« **Never such a blizzard before** »

Hiccup couldn't remember exactly when he had put his arms around the taller boy's neck, but now the two were barely moving anymore. With the brunet nested against his chest, Jack spun the both of them around the room with slow steps that followed their own rhythm. Their voice had gotten softer, and they had stopped laughing, but a sweet smile never left their lips as their gazed into each other's eyes.

« _I've got to get home_ »

« **Baby, you'll freeze out there** »

« _Say, lend me a coat?_ »

« **It's up to your knees out there** »

« _You've really been grand—_

« **I thrill when you touch my hand** »

_—But don't you see?_ »

« **How can you do this thing to me?** »

« _There's bound to be talk tomorrow_ »

« **Think of my life-long sorrow** »

« _At least there will be plenty implied_ »

« **If you got pneumonia and died** »

« _I really can't stay_  »

« **Get over that hold out** »

« **_Baby it's cold—_**

**_Baby it's cold outside_** »

The music quickly came to a stop, but the two teens kept swaying from one feet to another, too distracted to pay attention to the next song playing. Hiccup hadn't noticed that he had closed his eyes, nor did Jack know when he had leaned in so that heir foreheads would touch.

Both knew that they would have to stop eventually, to put an end to this joke and go back to their usual lives of teasing and bickering with each other. But as of now, with their bodies pressed together and their breaths mingling into one, neither dared to break the spell they were under.

Finally, forest green eyes blinked open and met azure blue ones, staring down with an intensity Hiccup had only seen in Jack once before, when he was talking about his music. It was a look of pure captivation and adoration, and it sent dozens of butterflies flying into the brunet's stomach.

Time slowed to a near stop, giving the boys all the luxury to notice small details, like how Jack's naturally dark roots had started showing under pure white hair, and how Hiccup's freckles spread across his face like specks of paint on a canevas. The world around them had faded into a haze, and Hiccup wasn't sure of anything anymore. Was Jack leaning down? Was his leaning up? They seemed awfully closer than a second ago, and the smaller teen could feel a fresh breath tickling his lips.

For a second, Hiccup wondered what would happen if he just stood on his tip-toes, and closed the distance—already infinitely small—between his lips and Jack's. What would happen then? It would be so easy, just pushing himself up. It wouldn't take a second. One tenth of an insane second that could change everything.

Hiccup's eyes left the pale lips they had been staring at, and glanced up to meet Jack's intense azure gaze. Eyes of frost staring into his, screaming at him—although he still wasn't sure what message they were trying to convey.

The teen felt his stomach twist in knots. His hands felt a lot colder, with a pricking feeling of tiny needles piercing the tip of his fingers where they brushed against the skin of Jack's neck.

The brunet's eyes kept traveling up. Jack's neck. His lips, definitely getting closer, now. His nose, exhaling a cold breath on his face. His eyes, his hair, his—

Hiccup burst into laugher, pushing himself slightly away from Jack, with his hands still on the other's shoulders in an attempt to keep himself up and steady. He bend over, clutching his chest, trying to catch his breath. Jack blinked back into reality, gaping stupidly at the brunet toppling over in his fit of laughter.

« Wh—Wha— »

Hiccup stammered, desperately trying to form a full sentence despite his words being cut off by snorts and hiccups—fittingly so. He finally gave up and pointed at the ceiling right above their heads, where neither of them had noticed the branch of mistletoe hanging, wrapped in a bright red ribbon.

« What the— » Jack spat, ignoring the heat warming his cheeks « I'm going to kill North. »

Hiccup only laughed some more, until he was leaning against the sofa, incapable of holding himself up anymore. Tears were streaming down his face as his body shook silently, his face bright red in embarrassment and laughter as he held his painful ribs.

Jack paced the room, groaning and pulling on his hair while muttering countless ways to murder the Santa lookalike.

Hiccup's laughter finally subsided. He sighed, heart pounding and face heating as the realization of the recent events finally dawned on him. He had almost kissed Jack. He had been about to straight-up plan a kiss on Jack—his _client_ , for Pete's sake—and he would've done it if not for the unsuspected distraction.

The brunet tried to ignore the unsettling questions that this raised— _Why_ would he kiss Jack? Did he _want_ to kiss Jack? Why hadn't Jack _moved_? Did Jack want to kiss _him_?—and instead cleared his throat, wiping his sweaty palms on the fabric of his pyjama pants.

« I'll—erm » Hiccup stuttered « I'll get a step ladder, to get that silly thing down » he shrugged awkwardly, vaguely gesturing at the mistletoe branch hanging out of his reach, and turned away from Jack, dead-set on never mentioning that incident again.

He had not expected Jack to call out his name and grab his wrist, spinning him around in the process. He had not expected chilly fingers to wrap around the back of his neck and push his chin up, and he had _definitely_ not expected pale lips to press against his own as he was pulled into a tight embrace.

Unexpected, yes, but not unpleasant.

Hiccup's eyes snapped shut, and his own hands came clutching the fabric of Jack's shirt on his chest and shoulder, pulling him down closer as he returned the kiss greedily. Shaky breaths exhaled as the two boys' lips glided together.

The brunet's mind was a mess. His heart was pounding in his chest and threatened to burst out of his ribs at any second. He couldn't think, couldn't focus on anything. He didn't notice—nor cared to do so, anyway—that they had walked back and were standing right under the mistletoe again. He didn't notice the generic Christmas song that was now playing in the room, or that Toothless was currently eating the remaining cookies right from the plate.

What Hiccup _did_ notice, however, was how cold Jack's fingers were on his skin, and how boiling hot his skin became under his touch. He noticed the way his eyelashes brushed against freckled skin, and how insistant Jack's lips were as they pressed on his. He noticed how said lips parted slightly, and how a cool tongue came begging for entrance.

And Hiccup wasn't one to refuse him.

He parted his lips, letting out a surprised gasp when Jack pressed closer to him, an arm snaking around the brunet's waist. In the back of his mind, the smaller teen noted the distinct taste of chocolate and something else—was that peppermint?—on the other's tongue. They relished into the kiss, their bodies flush against each other. Jack's hand traveling up and down Hiccup's spine as the smaller teen held back a moan.

They finally pulled away, Jack sneaking one last kiss, nibbling on the brunet's lower lip before pulling back without letting the other go completely. He looked down into clouded emerald eyes, and let out a breathy laugh as Hiccup smiled dizzily at him.

« _Hey_ » Jack whispered.

Hiccup chuckled, red tinting his cheeks, and he looked down at his hands on Jack's chest.

« You know » the white-haired man smiled, his breath tickling the brunet's nose « I'll have to give it to North… This was a clever trick » He laughed « I might actually use it against you a couple more times »

The smaller teen looked up, lifting a daring eyebrow as his lips stretched into a crocked grin.

« Really? » he smirked « I'd like to see you try »

Jack hummed, and leaned in just as Hiccup pulled away, biting his lips to hold back a chuckle. It turned into a game; Jack trying to catch the boy's lips, and Hiccup backing away before he could, coming closer right afterwards, just to taunt him. The white-haired man pouted, lower lip pulled out exaggeratedly. With a wicked grin, Hiccup wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him down into an actual kiss, lips mingling softly, with more restraint than before.

When they parted again, Jack pressed his forehead against Hiccup's, eyes closed as he let out a content sigh. Eyelids lifted, and ice-blue eyes looked into forest-green ones as the taller male whispered gently;

« Merry Christmas, Hiccup »

« Merry Christmas »

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't stress enough that this wasn't an actually chapter. It was just a little something I came up with on Christmas, and it kinda fit the story perfectly. Anyway, now that it's out of the way, we can go back to the usual, boring plot line where romance never happens because I'm a bitter single lady that yells at couples on the street. Can't wait! :D
> 
> The songs used here were "Let it Snow" (Ella Fitzgerald), "the Christmas Song" (Mindy Gledhill's version is adorable) and, big shocker, the ultimate cliché song for this pairing, "Baby it's Cold Outside" (my ultimate favorite version being Idina Menzel and Michael Buble's)... and if anyone mentions Frozen I'm gonna be pissed.
> 
> Also, on another note; I finally caught up with the updates on AO3, so the next chapters will be uploaded simultaneously on fanfiction.net and here. Thanks for reading, commenting and everything! xxx


	8. Candy Floss and Ferris Wheels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack drags Hiccup to a local town fair, where they meet two particular fans, and other shenanigans ensue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight warning for underaged drinking (Jack being 20 and Hiccup being a year or so younger), and a bunch of inappropriate jokes thrown in the mix for no reason.

« Jack, for the last time, we’re not ditching classes today »

Hiccup sighed as he walked to his second class of the day, with Jack following closely behind and Astrid flanked by his side, watching them both with an amused smirk. The brunet’s fever had gone down during the night, and he was now back up on his feet like nothing had happened. Despite his obviously improved health, Jack had been nagging him ever since he woke up, begging to cut classes for the day and head back home.

« I’m just saying » Jack threw his arms up, trying to keep in step with his bodyguard as they walked through the crowd of students. « You were in a pretty shitty state yesterday. I just think that it’d do you good to rest for another day! »

Hiccup groaned. Like Jack cared about his health. He just couldn’t handle sitting quietly in a room for more than five minutes.

« Oh, that is so considerate of you, Jack » Hiccup said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the white-haired man. « But I feel fine now, so we’re not going home. »

The other teen let out an audible growl, which caused Astrid to chuckle silently, eyes darting from one boy to the other as they exchanged biting remarks. After a few minutes, they turned in a hallway, and the blonde girl cleared her throat.

« Not that I don’t enjoy your bickering, boys » she announced, teasing smile on her lips « But I have to head to class, now. » Hiccup pouted and she laughed, leaning in to press a kiss on the boy’s cheek. « Try not to miss me too much! » she chanted.

Hiccup let out a laugh, lifting the back of his hand to his forehead in an attempt to look dramatic.

« You know I can make no such promises, milady » he mused « In fact, I already feel so _desperately_ alone that I’m probably going to ditch Jacky here— » he jerked a thumb towards the white-haired male « —and go off myself in the second floor bathroom instead! »

Astrid snorted and gave a final wave before disappearing around a corner of the hallway. Hiccup watched her go with a sigh, too focused on the retreating form of his friend to notice Jack smiling slightly behind him. However, said-smile was immediately wiped off his face when the brunet turned around.

« Well » he clapped his hands « Let’s head to class, we have Physics on second period »

Jack groaned.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hiccup only had a couple of classes on Wednesdays, which meant that his afternoons were often free. Usually, he’d use this time to catch up on some classwork in the library, or go sketch in the park if the weather wasn’t too bad. Sometimes, he’d even head out to the local hardware store and buy whatever he needed to build his newest "invention". They weren’t much—just a few gadgets he liked to tweak in his free time—and usually ended up stacked somewhere in his father’s garage, but he enjoyed the manual labor nonetheless.

This time, however, the brunet knew he wouldn’t be able to do any of those things, and all because of the white-haired teen walking behind him, complaining about wanting to go home.

« I can’t believe you made me do _maths_ » Jack growled. « I _hate_ maths! »

« They’re obligatory classes in the global cursus » Hiccup rolled his eyes, tired of repeating the same thing again « Your manager only signed you up for the general lectures, like maths and world history, so stop complaining. »

« What about engineering, then? » Jack crunched his nose « That’s not part of the global cursus. »

Hiccup shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

« I just felt like taking that one »

The taller teen cursed, but the brunet ignored him. They finally reached the exit of the building, and silently walked down the main street, passing by the local small family-owned stores and fewer larger brand-named shops.

Burgess didn’t have much to offer to tourists, which was probably why the town was so peaceful, but the college campus had contributed to the expansion of local businesses. Many shops had opened in the last few years; Bookstores, coffee shops, restaurants and bars—even a nightclub somewhere—that gave the town a certain appeal to younger crowds.

Jack had to admit—although he’d never voice that thought out loud—that le place was nicer than he’d first imagined. Not great, but decent. It was lively enough not to get bored to death, but it wasn’t suffocating like some big capitol cities could be. Still, the white-haired teen couldn’t help but think that the town still lacked the _buzz_ , that thrill of new things happening every now and then. Jack’s head snapped to his right when he noticed the flyers stuck the lampposts on their side of the street. From where he was, he couldn’t make out what the paper said, but the bright, colorful patterns were enough to catch his attention.

He jogged closer, earning a " _hey!_ " of protest from the brunet when he saw the other drifting away from him. Jack snatched the paper from the post, and carefully read the fancy writings on it.

" _Local town fair — Opened 9am-11pm_ "

Jack’s eyes widened and his lips stretched in an excited grin. He turned around, bouncing slightly on his heels and he waved the flyer in his bodyguard’s face.

« Hiccup, we have to go check this out! »

The brunet gave the paper a look-over, and he lifted an eyebrow.

« What was that you said earlier? » the smaller teen asked. « Something about heading home quickly because I was too sick to stay in class? » He gave a humorless laugh. « I guess that when it comes to your own fun, my health comes second, right? »

Jack huffed. « You’ve been fine all morning » he said.

« You never know » Hiccup shrugged. « I could be on the verge of collapsing again and dying. It’s not like you noticed anything last time. »

The white-haired teen groaned, rolling his eyes as he turned to face the brunet. He lifted a hand, pushing back the smaller teen’s auburn hair and pressing their foreheads together for a second, before stepping back. Hiccup stared, gaping at him with wild eyes, a blush creeping on his cheeks.

« You don’t have a fever, you’re fine. » Jack stated, before noticing the other’s face and squinting slightly « Although your face is a little red. »

Hiccup cleared his throat, shoving Jack further away and stepping past him, walking down the street a bit faster than before.

« Shut up » he hissed. « We can go, but only if you put on a disguise or something. I don’t want to handle a crowd of people rioting after they’ve noticed who you are. »

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Twenty minutes later—after a slight detour by the apartment where Hiccup insisted that, _no_ , wearing a different shirt did not make a decent disguise—the two boys were strolling down the colorful booths of the local town fair.

The fair was quite impressive, considering it only attracted local people. Small stalls were aligned in rows, each topped with stripped tents of white and green, yellow, red or blue. They offered pretty much any form of entertainment you could expect from a small-town carnival, ranging from impressive thrill-rides with more loops than Hiccup’s stomach could handle, to shooting ranges packed with cheap stuffed prizes. The brunet counted two or three duck ponds swarmed with toddlers, and noticed that they even had set a Ferris wheel that overlooked most of the nearby buildings.

Despite it being the middle of the afternoon—the sun was still high up in the sky—all the neon signs and fairy-lights that topped the tents were lit, and the booths seemed even more colorful and bright than they already were. There was an overpowering smell of candy-floss floating in the air, and with the musics from the different stalls fusing into a weirdly harmonious melody, the entire fair seemed to throb with childish excitement.

« One more shot, I can’t miss! »

Jack was currently standing in front of a booth, shotgun in hand as he aimed for the metallic targets moving in rows, a few feet away from him. For some reason, earlier in the afternoon, the white-haired singer had set his mind on winning an awful-looking stuffed toy shaped in what seemed to be a black dragon.

« Why are you so obsessed over that thing? » Hiccup asked, turning to face the booth, as Jack missed the target once more.

« It’s hideous » Jack simply said, squinting a little, and he pressed the trigger, this time hitting the center. « I want it. »

It took another fifteen bucks wasted for Jack to finally win the damn animal. It was even uglier up-close, but that didn’t keep the singer from grinning proudly.

« Took you long enough » Hiccup scoffed.

« Yeah, well _someone_ refused to give me a hand » Jack shot back, glaring slightly.

He was right. After the fourth missed shot, the taller teen had asked for help from his bodyguard, whose answer couldn’t have been more clear. Not ever. The brunet had vaguely explained that he had received a professional training to the use of firearms when he had first gotten the job—not that he'd ever had any use for them so far—and that it wouldn’t have been fair.

« I told you, that’s cheating. »

« Nah » Jack shook his head « Cheating would be shooting the guy holding the booth, instead. »

Hiccup almost commented on that, but before he could the dragon was shoved in his chest. He glanced up in surprise, but Jack was already walking away nonchalantly.

« What was that for? » the brunet asked, raising an eyebrow and keeping in step with the taller boy.

« You can keep it. » Jack shrugged « I don’t want it. »

« Then why _on earth_ have you been begging for it for hours? »

« It was a matter of pride » Jack caught his eyes, looking dead serious. « Do whatever with it. Throw it out, keep it. Give it as a chew-toy to your dog, for all I care. » He waved a hand around vaguely, dismissing the subject.

Hiccup looked down at the toy in his hands. The dragon was misshaped and a few threads were loose, but the jet black scales and toxic green eyes cheaply sewed somehow reminded the brunet of Toothless—or at least, what he would’ve looked like as a dragon.

The smaller teen hardly hid back a smile as he wondered if that was the reason why Jack had insisted so much on winning the stuffed toy. Grinning, he stuffed the thing in his bag, only managing to fit half of it inside, so that the head was poking out.

The two boys spent a couple of hours visiting the booths one after another, trying out the different games and stopping for snacks every now-and-then. Hiccup noticed that Jack had a surprisingly sweet tooth and seemed to be fond of anything sugary enough to give a normal human being diabetes after a single bite. However, the brunet deeply regretted giving into his whims and buying a bag-full of candies when he almost threw it all up after the singer had dragged him through three different rides.

They were sitting on the bench, waiting for Hiccup to catch his breath and be able to stand without gagging—it _certainly_ didn’t help that Jack was still gulping down marshmallows right under his nose—when they heard a shrill screaming behind them.

« Jack! »

The white-haired boy jumped, and Hiccup’s head snapped up just in time to see a mop of blonde hair charging at Jack and colliding with the singer, a pair of tiny arms wrapping themselves around his legs.

The teen stood there blinking for a minute, gaping helplessly at the toddler clinging to him, before his mind clicked.

« Sophie? » he asked.

The child’s head popped up, chin resting on the boy’s thighs as she shot him a toothy grin. Finally, she took a step back, freeing the teen from her embrace. She was wearing a white sundress with pink flowers sewed on the bottom, her tattered stuffed bunny still stuck into her hand as she extended her arms out eagerly.

« Jack, Jack, Jack! » she chanted.

The teen chuckled, and scooped the girl up until she was settled on his shoulder, shrieking in excitement. Jack bounced up and down, spinning slightly and earning gleeful giggles just as Hiccup noticed a woman—Sophie’s mother, from what he recalled—pushing through the crowd.

« Sophie! » she called, out of breath when she reached the two boys. « How many times have I told you not to run off like that? » The woman sighed, and gave a sheepish smile when she looked at the teens. « I’m so sorry, it’s the second time already that she came to bother you » she pressed a hand to her cheek in embarrassment « It’s just… she noticed you and darted off before I could catch her. »

Hiccup bit the inside of his cheek. Despite the dark blue cap he was wearing, the white strands of Jack’s hair were still noticeable, and it was surprising that no one had recognized him yet.

« It’s no problem, m’am » Jack grinned, before he noticed the brown-haired boy—a couple of years older than his sister—hiding behind his mother. « Well hey there, kiddo » the singer said, crouching slightly, Sophie still on his shoulder, gripping firmly at his roots « You must be Jamie, right? » 

The child gasped, staring in awe. His face turned a dark shade of red, and he took a shaky step forwards, nodding slightly.

« I’m Jack » he held a hand forwards, gripping the boy’s fingers and shaking them softly.

« Jack, Jack! » Sophie giggled.

« I-I know! » Jamie spoke a little louder, gaining confidence. « I have posters of your band in my bedroom, and I always listen to your music! » He grinned, and Jack saw that one of his teeth was missing. « I wanted to go to your concert last month » the kid frowned slightly « But the tickets were all sold out… »

Jack hummed in understanding and stood up, ruffling the boy’s hair.

« Well » the teen smirked « How about I make up for it by hanging out with you today? I just got here, and my friend here— » he vaguely gestured Hiccup behind him « —makes a pretty lame tour guide. » He chuckled. « In fact, I was hoping to find someone to challenge at those booths » Jack turned to face the children’s mother. « Mrs. Bennett » he asked, « If it’s alright with you, of course. »

« Oh, please please please, mom! » Jamie jumped in excitement.

« Alright, alright » the woman sighed « But promise me to behave, okay? »

The kid nodded hard.

« Race you to the mirror maze! » the white-haired teen laughed, tapping the kid’s arm and running off, Sophie still perched on his shoulder. Hiccup stayed behind as Jamie caught up with Jack, both laughing loudly about something, instantly getting along quite well.

« I’m sorry about that » Mrs. Bennet shook her head softly, her brown hair brushing her face. « Seems I can’t even control my own kids… »

« It’s not problem at all » the brunet assured.

The woman went on to talk about one thing or another, and Hiccup gave a polite nod or an absent-minded answer every now-and-them, but his mind was more focused on Jack—who was showing the kids the trick to catch the floating ducks in the pond—than on the conversation.

Despite having already witnessed it at the grocery store the other day, the brunet was still surprised to see that Jack could actually handle kids on his own—In all honesty, Hiccup didn’t think that Jack could handle _himself_ , let alone another tiny human being. As he watched him laugh, jumping around and playing tag with the Bennet kids when they weren’t trying to win a stuffed gorilla at a booth, Hiccup realized that the singer actually had a very childish streak to him.

The smaller teen felt a small pang in his chest. It was weird to see this side of Jack—the happy, easy-going, fun-loving Jack—when he usually acted like an ass most of the time. But in the passed few days, the singer had kept showing new facets of himself, new aspects of his personality where he wasn’t just an obnoxious jock.

As hard as it was for him to admit it, Hiccup was starting to enjoy this new Jack. The Jack that had opened up to him that evening, the Jack that had taken care of him after he had fainted, the Jack that smiled at him every now-and-then, and whose banters were friendly and fun instead of down-right hurtful.

The brunet clutched his chest slightly, frowning when his stomach did a weird twist. He nearly jumped out of his skin when Jack called out his name, rushing towards him with Jamie riding on his back and Sophie swinging from his arm.

« Hiccup! » the white-haired teen called again « Lend me some cash, I wanna get us some ice-creams! »

« Ice-creams? » Hiccup lifted an eyebrow « Didn’t you just eat ten pounds of candies? You can’t possibly still be hungry, right? »

« But Hiccup, _ice-cream_! » Jack protested.

The brunet rolled his eyes.

« Hiccuuuuuup » the other cried, pouting childishly.

« Hiccuuuuuup » Jamie joined in.

« Cup! Cup! » Sophie sung, giggling.

« Alright! Alright! » Hiccup groaned « Gods, you’re insufferable »

Jack gave a triumphant shout, and ran off as soon as the brunet had handed him the money. Mrs. Bennet chuckled at the sight, and Hiccup felt the urge to repeatedly slam his head against the nearest wall.

« I can’t thank you enough for this » the woman smiled fondly « We were so lucky to run into you today » she glanced at Hiccup « I’m sorry they kept your friend away from you »

« Oh! » Hiccup shook his head « He’s not- I mean we’re not- » he stumbled a bit, then smiled awkwardly « I’m Jack’s bodyguard » he said « I’m just keeping an eye on him for the time being, so don’t worry about it. »

« Is that so… » Mrs. Bennet’s hand pressed against her lips slightly. « And I thought you two were… » she seemed to hesitate for a moment, before dismissing the thought. « In that case, I’m not making your job any easier, I’m terribly sorry. »

« It’s fine » the brunet smiled in reassurance « In fact, we could always keep an eye on the kids, if it’s alright with you. I don’t think they’ll let go a Jack for a while, and I have a car parked close, so I could drive them back when they tire out. »

« Oh! » she gasped « No, that’s just too much, I wouldn’t want to impose more than I already have! »

« Not at all, it’d be a pleasure »

After a few minutes of exchanging numbers—Hiccup even gave out the address of the agency, just in case—Mrs. Bennet left, and the brunet joined Jack and kids, sitting on a bench with icicles in their mouths.

« Hiccup! » Jack called when he spotted him. « Took you long enough, I got you this! » he handed him a cherry-flavored ice-cream, and finally seemed to notice that the brunet was alone. « Where’s Mrs. Bennett? »

« She left » Hiccup shrugged, sitting next to the taller teen. « We have to bring the kids back by eight. »

Jack nodded. The brunet sighed contently, closing his eyes as a cool evening breeze blew in his hair. The sun had started to set, and the fair was bathed in hues of red and orange, mixing with the blinding neon lights of the booths twinkling erratically.

Hiccup leaned back slightly, jumping when his back made contact with Jack’s arm, which he had stretched on the back on the bench. The white-haired man immediately retrieved it, placing his hand back on his lap as he bave the brunet a sheepish smile.

« Sorry » he muttered.

The smaller teen shook his head, before he noticed that Jamie had moved from Jack’s side and was now standing in front of him. Hiccup glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. He wasn’t _bad_ with kids—well, he certainly wasn’t as good as Jack, that was for sure—but he tended to feel a little awkward around them.

« Jack said you’re his bodyguard » Jamie said, balancing himself on his heel, rocking back and forth with his hands in his back. « He said you knew some cool tricks and almost broke his arm when you met. »

Hiccup snorted, remembering his first encounter with the white-haired singer. It had been a week or so since he had started working on his mission, and if was astounding how much progress his relationship with Jack had made.

« Can you show me? » Jamie asked eagerly.

The brunet shrugged, mumbling a " _why not_ " and proceeding to show the boy a few tricks to use a person’s body and strength against them. At some point, Jamie had tried to put those lessons in practice on Jack, and had managed to crawl on top of the teen before Sophie threw herself in the mix, sending all three of them tumbling on the floor in an awkward body pile.

Hiccup laughed, biting his lip, and Jack managed to stand up, Sophie still clinging to his neck.

The white-haired man chuckled. « Alright, how about one last ride on the bumper cars before we head home? »

There was a collective cheer.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

It was a few minutes passed eight when they arrived at the Bennett household, where Jamie’s mother was waiting for them. As soon as they arrived, Sophie ran up to the house, squealing. Mrs. Bennett scooped her up into her arms, nodding fondly while Jamie rambled about all the things they had done at the fair.

She thanked the two teens once more, and they left—but not before Jamie had dragged Jack into his room to show off his posters of the band—with the promise to come by to play another time.

The walk back to the apartment was silent for the most part. The night was cool, tingling on Hiccup’s skin, and he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Jack walked next to him, light on his feet as he jumped on and off any low walls they passed.

« You know… » Hiccup spoke, breaking the comfortable silence that they had settled in. « It kills me to admit it, but you’re actually pretty great with kids… »

« Wow! » Jack exclaimed, lifting his hands as he pretended to retreat away from the smaller teen with a laugh « I don’t think I’m ready for children yet, Hiccup » he smirked « Maybe take me on a date first, then we’ll talk about it! »

Hiccup snorted, shoving Jack away.

« Shush » he threatened playfully « You know what I meant » He gave a lopsided smile and shrugged. « Seeing you so— » he paused, trying to think of the correct word. « —edgy with your older fans, I didn’t think you’d care much for a bunch of pre-teens… »

« Yeah, well… » Jack rubbed the back of his neck. « The kid’s twelve » he said, speaking of Jamie « He’s gonna be a teenager soon, and more likely than not, things are gonna suck for him… » He sighed. « I don’t want to be the first person to disappoint him. »

Hiccup nodded, finding Jack’s change of attitude a bit odd, and wondering if there was something he was keeping from him. But he was right. Adolescence was a hard time for everyone, and there was nothing worse than watching a kid realize that his idols weren’t as perfect as he’d made them out to be. Jack was just trying to keep the illusion up for a while longer.

Soon enough, they reached the apartment, where they were greeted by a very happy and very hungry dog. While Hiccup took care of Toothless, Jack went to flop face-first on his bed, completely exhausted.

It took half an hour for him to gather the strength to stand back up, and he dragged his feet all the way to the bathroom, wanting nothing more than to get under the burning water of the shower.

He flung the door open, and it took a second for him to realize that Hiccup was standing there, in the middle of the cramped bathroom, in nothing but forest green boxers, with his jeans on the floor, and his arms tangled in his shirt, over his head.

« Oh— _shit_! Sorry man! » Jack sputtered, and slammed the door behind him.

His face was burning up, and he stopped for a second, his back pressed against the bathroom door. It was ridiculous, he had no reason to be that embarrassed. They were both guys, and it wasn’t like Hiccup had been completely naked.

Still, the white-haired man’s face was completely flush and he found that, despite his attempt to push those thoughts far, far away, his mind kept wandering back to the image of the brunet’s bare back, a bit lanky—but surprisingly toned—with sun-kissed skin completely covered in freckles. He tried to keep himself from traveling lower, down the curve of his back, up those thin legs.

But still, his mind wandered back to that long, white scar that went from the brunet’s left ankle all the way up to his knee.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Hiccup sat on the edge of the bathtub, face in his hands, cursing the gods. He had been in that position for at least twenty minutes, face beet red and head spinning.

He had forgotten to lock the bathroom door. How could’ve that happened? He _always_ remembered to lock the bathroom door—a habit he had taken a while back after realizing that Toothless could open doors, and did exclusively when they had guests over. But this time he hadn’t, thinking Jack had fallen asleep in his room, and too tired to check.

He hadn’t, and Jack had walked in on him changing.

The brunet groaned, shaking his head and standing up. He put on a T-shirt and some pyjama pants, and stopped with his hand on the handle, hesitating a second before pulling the door open. He couldn’t stay in there all night, anyway. The teen clenched his hands to his sides, head down and teeth digging in his lower lip when he stepped foot into the living room.

Jack was sprawled on the couch, remote control in hand as he flipped through the channels, eyes glued on the TV screen. Hiccup eyed him carefully as the white-haired teen settled for a channel, propping himself up on his elbows slightly as he paid close attention to what was happening on the screen.

The smaller teen made his presence known with a soft cough, and Jack vaguely nodded towards him before focusing on the TV once more.

Hiccup let out a relieved sigh, glad that the singer didn’t seem keen on making him more awkward than he already was about what had happened. The brunet sat down on the floor, next to Jack's feet, and narrowed his eyes at the TV, where a man in a tuxedo was making a speech.

« What on earth are you watching? » he asked.

« An award show to reward mediocre celebrities for their mediocre accomplishments. »

« Oh. » Hiccup bit his lip « I would've expected you to be amongst the nominees, then... » Jack kicked his shoulder, and the boy laughed. « Anyway, unless that dude in the tux gets shot down by storm troopers in the next five seconds, that seems like the most boring TV-show ever. »

« You'd think that » the singer said « But I actually made a game out of them, to make them more entertaining. »

« A game? »

« Drinking game » Jack shrugged. « I've been to enough of these shows to know tha— »

« Show-off » Hiccup interrupted with a scoff.

The white haired man nonchalantly raised his middle finger to the brunet, seemingly unbothered as he kept talking.

« As I said » the older male repeated « I've seen enough of these to pick up the little habits of the host. »

Hiccup didn't comment on that. Those second-rate shows were known for their low budget, and more often than not they hired the same host every year. Usually, a once-famous child actor that hadn’t made it in show-business after puberty hit, and was desperate to relive his past glory.

« This guy » Jack pointed the remote towards the TV screen « Wears a toupee, but doesn't want anyone to find out. So you just take a shot everything he tries to fix it. »

« I call bullshit » Hiccup shook his head. « Even if you're right, he can't just go fixing it that often, or he'd get caught. »

« Right, right » Jack nodded « Then I guess it's not a very good game. Which means that during the last award show, when I played it, I _totally_ didn't get hammered and threw up all over North's shoes. » His snapped his fingers « Oh wait! Except I did. »

Hiccup gave a disbelieving hum, and Jack stood up suddenly, startling the brunet. He watched curiously as Jack turned his heels and walked back to the kitchen—he couldn't have been offended that easy, could he?—and raised an eyebrow when the white-haired singer came back with two small glasses and a bottle of hard liquor.

« Fine. » Jack said, setting the glasses on the table and filling them up halfway. He pushed one towards Hiccup. « See for yourself. »

The brunet narrowed his eyes at the bottle. Both Jack and himself were a few years too young to be legally allowed to drink alcohol. That particular fact had never seemed to bother Hiccup’s father, however, who had insisted on bringing him to every one of his drinking parties ever since the boy had reached his eighteenth year.

Used to it or now, It probably wasn’t a good idea to encourage Jack in his underaged drinking. He had no obligation to stop him, of course, and his contract mentioned nothing as such, but Hiccup had a feeling this wouldn’t lead to anything good.

« Jack, come on » The freckled teen shook his head. « That’s childish. I'm not going to— »

« Drink. » The taller male ordered, pointing at the screen where the host was—unsuccessfully—trying to discreetly tug at his hair.

« Shit. »

Hiccup gulped down the drink, feeling the burn of the alcohol running down his throat as he swallowed. He frowned, glaring at the TV set. There was no way he was going to let Jack win this game. It was a matter of pride. Just he wait, the brunet was going to swipe that smuggish grin right off the singer's stupid face.

Several drinks later, Hiccup had to admit defeat. The TV host touched his hair so often that the two teens had lost count, and their drinks went down at a frantic pace—as well as all the junk food they had taken out during the evening.

The two boys were sprawled out on the floor, Jack having fallen off at some point during the game. Having Viking blood in him—and a considerable amount of practice, thanks to his father—Hiccup was decent when it came to holding his liquor, despite his small figure. But after more shots of vodka than he could count, even he was starting to feel the fuzzy warmth of inebriety.

Jack seemed used to those kind of game, as well. His cheeks were flushed and he was gasping on the floor, toppled over in fits of laughter, but given how much they had drunk he should've been in a far worse state.

The game had gradually lost all purpose. The host had changed during the night, and after Jack had declared him " _more boring than a winter without snow days_ " they had started trying to predict the winner in each category amongst the nominees—and the drunker they got, the looser the rules got, somehow managing to apply to which commercial would come up next—and taking a shot whenever they guessed wrong.

Hiccup's ribs were painful from the constant laughter. He was leaning forwards, holding onto Jack to keep himself from face-planting on the wooden floor of the living room. Toothless was laying under the coffee table, curiously watching the two boys, and prying on any scraps of food that fell during their drunken shenanigans.

« Okay, okay! » The brunet chuckled drunkly, after they had finished the bottle on the table. « You were right, those shows are actually sort of maybe a bit fun to watch. »

« See! » Jack shouted, louder than words was necessary—or appropriate, given how late at night it was. « I told you so! »

« Hey, don't go thinking that I'm gonna start cuddling on the couch with you whenever one's on, okay? »

Jack laughed. « The real thing’s even more fuuuun! » he nodded, his speech slurred and incoherent.

There was a few seconds of silencer, where both teens were silently chuckling, until the white-haired singer slammed his fist on the table, causing the brunet next to him to yelp.

« I know! » he gasped. « The band’s been nominated for one of those— » he vaguely gestured to the TV screen, which was now displaying a commercial for cat food. « —So you could come as well and see for yourself! North's probably going to hire a proper gorilla-looking bodyguard, but you could always come as my plus one! »

« Wow » Hiccup pressed his hand to his chest in mock admiration « You make it sound so romantic, Jack! »

« Shush! » Jack pressed his fingers to his lips, missing them by a few inches. « Be nice. »

Hiccup laughed, and finally shrugged. « Okay » he said. « Sure, why not, I'll come. »

« Great! » The singer sat up, his body swaying from side to side slightly. « It's a date then! »

« It's not a date... »

« Hush child » Jack whispered, pressing his hand flat on Hiccup’s face, causing the brunet to giggle uncontrollably. « You’re drunk and confused. »

Hiccup shoved Jack’s face away and fell back on the floor laughing. Cheek pressed on the cool wooden floor, he reached out his arm to blindly grab a french fry from a plate on the coffee table. He struggled for a few seconds, grunting as he couldn't see where he was aiming his hand, and let out a triumphant "Yes!" when he finally found what he was looking for.

« My precious! » he said, rolling on his back and holding the fry over his head.

Jack had sat up, watching the brunet with an amused smirk, and reached over him to snatch the prized food out of his freckled hands just as he was about to eat it, stuffing the thing in his mouth before the smaller teen could react.

« Hey! » Hiccup protested, pouting on the floor.

The white-haired singer smirked, taking another fry and eating in right under Hiccup’s nose, then another, and another. Finally, Hiccup reacted, sitting up and grabbing Jack’s wrist before he could eat the fry. He pulled him down, causing the taller teen to fall on the floor next to him. The brunet sat up, propped on one arm as he tried to get the food from Jack—who was doing his best to keep it out of the boy's reach. With a wicked grin plastered on his lips, the singer stuffed the fry in his mouth, immediately grabbing Hiccup's hips and flipping them over on the floor so that he was topping the freckles teen.

« Tell me, Hic » Jack said with a drunken giggle, sitting straighter to straddle the smaller boy's hips. « How does it feel, knowing you've been over-powered by a skinny guy with no physical training whatsoever? »

« That depends » Hiccup answered, crossing his arms on his chest with a pout. « How does it feel, knowing you're being a huge dick right now? »

« Pretty good, actually! » Jack smirked. « And you're not too far from the truth, if you know what I mean... » He added with a wink.

Hiccup started at him for a minute, eyes narrowed as he tried to understand the meaning behind Jack's words. The information slowly reached his inebriated brain, and the brunet had a gasp of horror—which only caused Jack to grin wider.

« Oh, gross! » Hiccup screamed, pushing Jack off him and scrambling back to sit up against the couch. « Dude, that was _way_ out of line! »

« You know I'm right. » the singer wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

« Okay. » Hiccup lifted a finger, trying to get his point across. « First of all, I do not. » He rolled his eyes. « And second, I’m pretty sure that the whole "billionaire superstar" act is all to over-compensate for something... »

Jack glared at the sight of the brunet's smug grin, and reached for his pants zipper menacingly. « I'll show you compensation! »

Hiccup fell back in a fit of laughter, rolling to his side and curling into a ball, screaming.

« Noooooo! » He cried out. « Keep it in your pants, Frost! »

Jack burst out laughing, flopping unceremoniously on top of the giggling brunet. His laughter subsided into faint chuckles, and finally he fell silent, allowing a peaceful sigh to pass his lips.

« Hiccup » he groaned, shifting on the brunet, laying flat on his back, against the smaller teen's side. « I'm tired... »

« I don't care » the brunet shrugged with a drunken giggle.

« Outrage! » the singer gasped. « How dare you treat me so, dear Sir? » he pressed the back of his hand against his forehead dramatically. « Ah the torture! » Ripping his sweatshirt open, he cried « Agony! Beyond power of speech*»

The smaller teen snorted slightly. He closed his eyes, trying to keep his mind focused on anything other than Jack's warmth radiating through him. He was heavy—too drunk to be anything other than a dead weight—and his elbow was digging into the brunet’s sides, but aside from that, the position wasn’t all that uncomfortable. It was awkward, yes, but amusing. And the warmth was nice…

Hiccup shook his head. « Get offa me! » He complained, kicking Jack off him. « And if you're tired, go to bed, you ass! »

Jack sat up, legs crossed, and he held his ankles. « I could to that. » He said, his gaze unfocused.

« Then go! » the brunet ordered, still lying on the floor, temptingly pointing in the general direction the hallway—not quite accurately so, either.

He let out a sigh, and heard the mumble curses of Jack trying to get up from the floor. After the muffled noise of the white-haired male bumping into every single piece of furniture in the apartment, Hiccup finally hear one of the bedroom doors—he hoped it was Jack's—shut close.

The apartment fell back into silence once Jack had left. Hiccup frowned. Without the other male's weight on top of him, the brunet was suddenly a lot colder. He repressed a shiver, deciding it was best to just clean up the mess and go to bed—praying the gods that Jack hadn't gotten into the wrong room.

Hiccup stood up, and went to grab the empty cans on the coffee table. But as soon as he was on his feet, the living room went spinning around him, and he felt his stomach flip.

The boy fell back on the couch, hiding his face in his hands, groaning as he tried to fight the urge to hurl. The arm that wasn’t over his face hung lazily from the edge of the couche, and the brunet let out a chuckled when he felt Toothless’ tongue licking off the salty remains of fries and cheetos off his fingers.

Keeping his eyelids as tightly shut as humanly possible, Hiccup blindly reached for the wooden cover at the end of the couch, and messily wrapped it around him.

Cursing Jack for everything that has happened that night, Hiccup slowly fell into a dreamless sleep, dreading the harsh reality the next morning would bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Yes, I did shamelessly add part of the lyrics of "Agony", from the musical Into the Woods. This song was hilarious and I can't NOT picture Jack singing it (also Chris Pine, hell yes).


	9. Morning After Coffees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiccup battles with the worse hangover of his life, and Jack gets into more trouble than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya guys! I'm so sorry that it took me 6 months to write a stupid chapter, and I apologize to all those who thought this story was discontinued. Long story short, I had the biggest writer's block for this chapter, and I wasn't at the best place when it came to writing. BUT, here I am, and hopefully you'll get the next chapter before the second ice age! 
> 
> Enjoy, and please let me know what you thought of this chapter!

Throbbing. That was all Hiccup could think of when he rolled off—quite literally—of the couch the next morning. Throbbing, painful pangs that echoed under his skull, in rhythm with the nagging alarm of his phone.

He sat up—butt stinging from the freezing floor and back propped up against the couch—hiding his face in his hands. His tongue was coated and there was a bitter taste in the back of his throat as he fought back the urge to hurl. His stomach was aching, his skin felt sticky from the sweat on his back, and he just couldn't get rid of that damn taste.

Standing up, he wobbled his way into the bathroom, kicking opened cans and empty bottles on his way there, mumbling angrily at them. The sun was already up, glaring light seeping into the room through the opened curtains, forcing the brunet to step blindly through the hall, eyes shut tight.

His memories from the night before were fuzzy—he vaguely remembered a game involving a lot of drinking, and a late-night commercial about a dancing man in a cat suit. But despite his state of semi-consciousness, the freckled teen deduced that whatever had happened in the evening had something to do with why Jack was sprawled out on his bed, drool pooling on the sheets under him. He decided to ignore that, for now, and focus on taking a shower—and half a bottle of aspirin.

As the freezing water of the shower hit his face with an unwelcomed force, Hiccup could think of nothing other than the throbbing of his head. Aside, maybe, for how he was going to murder Jack for suggesting this stupid game.

* * *

« Why did I even think it would be a good idea to agree to this? It's  _Jack_ , of course everything he'd suggest would end in a mess like that! Why on earth did I agree to this? »

Astrid watched quietly from the other side of the cafeteria table as Hiccup held his head in his hands, elbows propped on either side of his meal—the greasiest french fries with more ketchup than was considered healthy. The brunet had been loudly complaining about his night ever since he ran into Astrid before classes stared.

From what the blonde understood, Hiccup and Jack had taken part in some sort of drinking game the evening before, and now the freckled teen was sporting a massive hangover.

« Why  _did_  you agree, though? » Astrid asked, unable to refrain her curiosity.

Because really, this was an unusual sight. Hiccup had never been one to give into peer pressure, and she just couldn't picture a way to convince him to participate in such a stupid game on a school day.

Instead of an explanation, Hiccup drew an audible groan, and flopped his head on the table, knocking it on the wooden surface a couple of times as he wallowed in self-loathing.

« You really can't hold your liquor, can you? » A voice came from behind them as Jack joined their table, carrying a tray with the largest hamburger Astrid had ever seen.

If Hiccup looked on the verge of death, Jack however seemed unusually perky—which felt extremely odd and uncomfortable. The white-haired teen had been grinning from ear to ear all morning, and given any other situation Astrid would've sworn the world was ending.

« Can too. » Hiccup grumbled, voice muffled as he didn't bother looking up.

Jack clicked his tongue. « Keep telling yourself that, kiddo. »

The singer was too busy relishing in his smugness to notice the brunet lift his head and stick his tongue out before regaining his previous position. A chuckle escaped Astrid's lips, and she tried to cover it up with a cough. Having known the freckled boy since childhood, she of course knew about that childish side of Hiccup, but it was still surprising to see him opening up to someone else so quickly.

Fishing her phone out of her skirt pocket, she promptly sent a message to Hiccup, fingers tapping the screen with a speed and discretion that only came with years of texting during classes in High School. She didn't need to glance at the screen more than once or twice before she hit sent.

It took barely a minute before she saw Hiccup jump at the vibration of his own phone, and pulled it out of his pocket, reading the text carefully.

**[SENT] (12:47) Look at you two being all chummy! Glad to see you've made a new friend. Maybe don't get hammered next time you want to be social, though.**

Astrid saw Hiccup frown, glancing up in annoyance, before typing an answer. A second after he had put his phone down on the table, Astrid's phone vibrated in her lap.

**[RECEIVED] (12:49) We're not friends, Astrid. In case you've forgotten, he's a /client/. And don't speak like that, you sound like my mum.**

**[SENT] (12:50) Well someone has to. And don't sass me young man. You'd never agree to anything of the sort with just any other client. Despite what you might want to believe, you and Jack actually get along pretty well.**

Hiccup was openly glaring at the blonde when Jack leaned closer to him, trying to get a peek at the screen.

« What's going on? » The white-haired singer asked. « You look like you're about to murder your phone. » He barely caught a glimpse before Hiccup shoved him away. « Who's that? »

« Actually » Hiccup lifted the phone up to his eyes, facing Jack so that the taller teen wouldn't see the screen. The brunet narrowed his eyes in mock concentration. « It's for you! » The boy gave an exaggerated gasp. He pressed a finger on the phone, sliding it along the screen as if following the imaginary lines he was reading. « It says that if you don't stop spying on me immediately, I'm going to smack your head so hard it'll go straight through the table. » He deadpanned.

Astrid choked back a laugh as Jack scooted away from his bodyguard, brows furrowed in a weary expression.

« Well someone's all sunshines and rainbows today... » Jack muttered.

« And whose fault is that, huh? »

The blonde chuckled softly, slipping her phone back in her pocket, as it seemed that Hiccup was in no mood for a conversation. A small smile hovered at her lips as she leaned back in her chair and studied Jack instead. It was amusing how pouty the singer got when Hiccup wasn't paying enough attention to him, although he probably hadn't realized it himself. It wasn't glaring obvious, but Astrid could see clearly enough that the teen has recently started acting like a dejected puppy whose master was too busy to toss him a bone.

Lately, things had gotten interesting between the two boys. Astrid knew that something had changed between them. It wasn't anything big, but it was big enough to keep them off each other's throats, and they didn't seem inclined to rip the other's eyes out quite as much—still, but relatively less.

The blonde was pulled out of her thoughts by Hiccup's groans as he buried his face in his arms, crossed on the lunch table.

« Okay,  _seriously_. » Astrid shook her head. « I've seen the parties your dad throws, Hiccup, and it takes a whole lot of liquor do get you drunk. How much did you drink last night to be hungover like that? »

A mumbled voice came from between the brunet's arms « A whole  _fucking_  lot. »

Astrid's lips pressed in a thin line, frowning slightly. But a glance at her watch kept her from pushing the issue. She stood up, gabbing her bag on the floor and threw it over her shoulder, her blonde braid flipping around her face with the motion.

« I have a class now, but I'll meet you after Econ. » She said, pressing a hand to the brunet's shoulder, who simply groaned in understanding. « Try to eat something, or you'll never get over your hangover. » Astrid added, her voice firmer.

Another few mumbled words from Hiccup, and the blonde left Jack alone with his bodyguard, the heels of her brown boots clicking on the tiled floor as she left and resonating through the—now mostly empty—cafeteria.

The two boys stayed silent for a while, and Jack was the first to break the silence.

« Dude, you really look like shit… »

«  _Thanks_. » Hiccup hissed, raising his head to glare at the white haired male. He reached for his glass and swallowed a couple of painkillers from an aspirine bottle all in once.

« Hey don't blame me. » Jack frowned slightly. « You agreed to this. I wasn't exactly holding a gun to your head, you know. » When the brunet's glare softened, the singer added. « Besides, I know you're just pissed because you lost the bet. »

« I beg your pardon? » Hiccup straightened his back, eyeing Jack carefully. « I don't recall losing anything. And there was no bet to begin with. »

« I remember things differently. » Jack insisted. « Clearly I can hold my liquor better, which means I win. »

« Hell no. » The other boy objected. « From what I remember you gave up and fell asleep first. So if there  _had_  been a bet—which there wasn't—then I'd have won. »

Jack raised an eyebrow defiantly. He grabbed his plate and shoved the greasy hamburger right under Hiccup's nose. The smell of meat hit the brunet, and he had to jump back, gagging audibly.

« You were saying? »

« Fine, whatever. » Hiccup huffed. « I'll get you a cup of coffee after classes. Now get that thing away from me, I'm gonna throw up. »

Jack beamed. Turning back to his plate, he did nothing short to attacking his meal, and Hiccup had to fight the urge to hurl.

* * *

Hiccup's headache was no closer to vanishing as he and Jack strode in the campus halls to their next class. The air inside the building was stuffy, and the brunet wanted nothing more but to skip the rest of his lessons and head straight home. But, as Jack had been nagging him to do just that all morning, Hiccup had decided that he'd rather projectile vomit in front of hundred of students rather than give in to the singer's whims.

The halls were far from crowded at that time of day, since most students had chosen to keep their afternoons free, or skipped the period right after lunch in favor of a quick nap—and Gods, a nap sounded really appealing right now. There were only a few students other than Jack and him, so when someone rammed in Hiccup's side and sent him crashing in the nearest wall, the brunet knew straight away it wasn't by accident.

« Watch where you're going,  _Fuckup_. »

His attacker was a short man with more muscles than brains. His beefy arms were swinging by his sides as he guffawed loudly, taking pride in what he had just done. His head seemed disproportionately small compared to the rest of his body, and stuck out like a pinhead on top of the boy's large neck. And if the bully's physique wasn't a desperate attempt to look unquestionably manly, his poor excuse for a beard certainly was.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, unresponsive, and rubbed his shoulder where it had hit the wall. On the other hand, Jack was visibly fuming.

« Hey! » He called angrily, but Hiccup caught his shoulder to keep him from advancing.

« Don't. » He said firmly. When Jack shot him a confused look, the brunet sighed sadly, rubbing his temples as he explained; « That's Snotlout, he's my cousin. »

The white-haired man's eyes shot wide open, and he had to do a double take, trying to find any resemblance between the two boys, but he found none. Snotlout was still standing a few feet away, obviously waiting for any kind of reaction from the two boys. Jack turned back to Hiccup, frowning.

« I don't care if Snotface's your cousin, what's his problem? » He hissed.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. « Just ignore it, Jack. »

« Yeah just ignore it, Jack! » The burly teen mimicked, using an exaggeratedly nasal voice.

« Dude, back the fuck off. » The singer threatened, stance defensive as he faced the bully.

Snotlout had a mocking laugh. « What now, Snow-White, you protecting you'  _girlfriend_? »

« You know what? » Jack asked, looking like he was actually mulling the question over. « I  _would_ , but I'm usually too busy pleasuring  _yours_. »

The other boy looked startled, having clearly not expected any answer. His smile vanished and he glared angrily, baring teeth like an animal.

« Laugh it up, new boy. I'm sure you've got nothin' in your pants. »

« Funny, that's not what your  _mum_  said last night. »

Snotlout had walked back to the two teens, and was now standing only a few inches from Jack. His chest was puffed in an attempt to look impressive despite Jack being a good foot taller than him. But, although much shorter, the bully looked more than willing to jump head-first in a fight. And from experience Hiccup knew that he was.

« Listen kid. » Snotlout threatened. « If you don't shut up right now I'm gonna punch your face in. »

« Yeah? » Jack scoffed. « And how're you gonna do that? With a step-ladder? »

Hiccup barely had the time to intervene before Snotloud landed a punch right in Jack's face. He shoved the burly teen away, and had to keep a firm grip on the white-haired singer as well.

« Give it up Snotlout, I'm not in the mood. »

After a glare and a handful of threats on his cousin's side, Hiccup was finally able to drag Jack away from Snotlout. The white-haired teen huffed in anger, but cooperated and turned away from the fight, following Hiccup down the hall. They were barely a few feet away when Jack snickered, just loudly enough to be heard;

« Talk about over-compensating through violence. »

Had this been any other situation, Hiccup would've probably given a good chuckle at that. But before he could react, Jack was tackled to the ground and the sound of flesh hitting flesh resonated through the hall. Snotlout was straddling Jack, and although the white-haired man was putting quite a fight, the burly teen managed to land a punch straight to the singer's jaw before Hiccup managed to separate them. The brunet grabbed the bully by the collar of his shirt, peeling him off Jack and sending him tumbling backwards. Snotlout bared his teeth at his cousin, stepping forwards to jump back into the fight, shoving Hiccup to the side with his arm. He was suddenly stopped when the lanky teen took hold of his wrist and twisted it back, pulling Snotlout away and ramming his face in the nearest wall. The beefy boy groaned in pain, and his eyes were wide in surprise as he tried to free himself, in vain.

Hiccup had never shown any signs of physical strength until then. To others, he was just a bookwormish and frail teen still waiting to hit his growth spurt. Astrid knew of his real abilities, of couse, since they sometimes trained together, but it was a fact he had hoped to keep under wraps.

From the incredulous stares and deafening silent of the few students that had stopped dead in their tracks on their way to class to watch, it was fairly certain that his cover had been blown.

Hiccup groaned in frustration. Turning his attention back to his cousin, still squirming against the wall, he pushed the bully's arm harder in his back, causing him to yelp loudly. Hiccup leaned closer to the other's face, so that his voice was barely over a whisper when he said;

« Stay away from him. »

The threat was clear, and the uncharacteristically frightening tone Hiccup had used sent Snotlout running the second he had been freed from the brunet's grasp.

With the bully out of sight, the crowd that had formed broke into hushed conversations, eyes digging into Hiccup's back. He turned to Jack, who was only just picking himself up from the floor, wiping the thin trail of blood that stained his chin with the back of his hand. His gaze was still fixated on the corner where Snotlout had disappeared.

Hiccup held out a hand to help the white-haired boy up, which Jack accepted. Once on his feet, the singer opened his mouth to thank his bodyguard, but instead he found himself being dragged out of sight from the other students. Hiccup was marching fast, Jack struggling to keep in step behind him, and from his stiff shoulders and iron grasp on his wrist, the taller male thought better than to say anything. He waited until Hiccup pulled him in an empty staircase, and massaging his bruised wrist, he waited for the brunet to collect himself enough to speak.

When Hiccup turned around, however, it wasn't relief or gratitude that arbored his face—as Jack had expected—but unrestrained anger. And the brunet was visibly fuming when he threw his hands in the air and yelled;

« What on earth were you  _thinking_? »

Jack was speechless. Of all the things he had expected from Hiccup,  _this_  was definitely not the way he had thought to be rewarded. The white-haired teen frowned, feeling the anger starting to pulse in his veins.

« What? » He snarled.

« How could you be so reckless? » Hiccup asked again, hands tugging at the roots of his auburn hair. « You could've gotten seriously hurt, and then what? Show up to you manager the next day all bruised and bleeding and having me fired? That was so stupid of you! »

« Is that how you thank me for saving your ass? »

Hiccup had a humorless laugh. « Funny, I think we have a very different recollection of whose ass got saved by whom. »

« What I  _do_  recall » Jack snapped, « Is you letting that idiot walk all over you like a carpet. So what? You're all big talk around others but when it actually comes down to it you'll let anyone push you around? That's just pathetic. »

«  _Please_. » The brunet rolled his eyes. « Snotlout is hardly worth the time of day to me. Let me deal with the likes of him however I want. » Hiccup frowned, his lips pursed and voice curt as he added; « This is my job on the line here, Jack. You can't just go make a mess of everything just because you want to. »

There was a flash of pain in the singer's eyes, and he took a step back, looking as though the wind had just been knocked out of him. But as quickly as it had appeared, any trace of hurt on the boy's face vanished and was replaced by anger. Jack's eyes hardened again, and his voice cut the silence of the staircase like a knife.

« I was trying to  _help_. » He snapped. « Why are you so angry about this? »

« Because I'm not that helpless, Jack! » Hiccup screamed, his hands flying to grab a fistful of his hair. « If anything, it's  _my_  job to protect  _you_. » He glared accusingly at Jack. « But if you're not going to take your own safety seriously, then maybe it's best if we just ended things here. »

The silence that followed was agonizingly loud, as the last words spoken hung in the air. The two boys slowly registered their meaning, chest heaving from their screaming match. Before any of them could react, Hiccup's name was called from the hall, and soon Astrid's figure appeared in the staircase. Her pale blue eyes were wide in concern, shooting from one boy to the other in an attempt to grasp the situation.

« What on earth is going on? » She asked the brunet. « I could hear you two screaming from the other side of the building! »

Hiccup answered with a bitter laugh. « Ask Jack. »

And that was all it took for the two teens to go off again. Astrid blinked in confusion as the two males shouted themselves hoarse, with her stuck in the middle of their tantrum. They were gesticulating widely, sometimes addressing less than appropriate gestures to the other. When her eardrums started ringing from all the noise, Astrid huffed and decided that enough was enough.

« Ladies, ladies, please! You're both pretty! » She called out loudly, shoving her hands in each boy's face to catch their attention and keep them at arms-length. She then turned to Hiccup, and adressed him a stern look. « Hiccup, sidebar. »

« Side-what now? » The brunet asked, still glaring at Jack and only half paying attention to his best friend. « What's that supposed to mean? »

« It means, » Astrid snatched Hiccup by the collar and dragged him a few feet away from the staircase. « Get your scrawny ass over here before I knock you unconscious. »

They stopped a little further down the hall. There wasn't a soul left outside of their classrooms at that time, and from their position Hiccup could still spot Jack kicking the landing of the stairs, but they were safe out of ear-shot from the white-haired boy.

Astrid crossed her arms on her chest. Her short blue skirt swayed slightly on her hips as she rested her weight on one foot, and she tapped the floor impatiently with the other.

« Hiccup, » She said admonishingly, eyes closes as the pinched her nose bridge with one hand. « You know I'd take a bullet for you… »

« No you wouldn't. » Hiccup cut her off. « You'd probably axe the guy square in the face before he could even have the time to pull out the gun. »

« Hiccup I love you but I will murder you if you keep interrupting me »

« Wouldn't that be conter-productive?—Ouch! » The brunet yelped loudly when Astrid punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

« I'm serious. » She warmed him. « Listen… I love you like a madman, but if things keep up that way I'll make it my personal duty to beat some sense into you. »

« Why? » Hiccup was confused, but did not doubt that she would put her threat into execution one bit. Professionally trained or not, if there was someone capable of kicking his ass, it was probably Astrid.

« You and Jack! » The blonde screamed in frustration. « Gods! You guys are constantly at each other's throats when it's glaring obvious to everyone involved that you just want to hump each other's brains out! »

The freckled teen felt his face flush heavily. He opened his mouth to protest but no words came out. He barely managed to stutter a few incoherent words before Astrid sighed and pressed a hand to his shoulder.

« I'm not trying to push you, Hiccup. » She added gently, eyeing her friend in worry. « You can figure out what's going on between you two in due time, but you have to admit there  _is_  something there. Maybe not romance, but there's  _something_. You've never been affected by a client like that before, and you've had some pretty terrible cases that make Jack look like a choir boy in comparison. » She gave a weak smile. « Whatever it is that's going on between you two, you have to talk it over with Jack before it blows in your face and you end up losing your job over it. »

Hiccup's brows furrowed in thought. He had to admit that none of his previous clients had ever gotten such strong reactions out of him. It was clear that Jack was something different, yet the brunet still had a hard time figuring out wether or not it was a good thing.

He sighed in defeat, knowing very well that it was pointless to lie to Astrid. That girl had a sixth sense and would not hesitate to bully the truth out of him.

« I can't help it, Astrid… » He said, voice lower and even now that he had calmed down. His eyes were fixated on the ground as he spoke. « You've seen how he is, we can barely stay in the same room for more than a few minutes before something sets one of us off. And Jack visibly hates me. »

«  _Please_. » Astrid rolled her eyes. « It's clear to anyone with eyes that Jack's the kind of person to push people away out of fear of being rejected. He's an insecure wreck. »

Hiccup felt his heart clench. His thoughts were brought back to that evening in Jack's room where he had walked in on him singing. From what the white-haired boy had said, it was easy to guess that he had a heavy history that had made him the distant and diffident person he was now, the boy that was the polar opposite of the persona he playacted on stage.

For some reason, despite sharing virtually anything with his best friend, he had never mentioned the discussion he had had with Jack that night. He knew that secret would've been safe with Astrid if he had shared it with her, but he had decided against it.

« Besides, » The blonde girl squeezed the brunet's shoulder to pull him out of his thoughts. « Jack didn't just get into any fight. He did it to defend  _you_. » She gave him a soft smile. « Not something someone you would do if they hated you, don't you think? »

Hiccup's stomach did a weird twist. His cheeks heated and his voice got stuck in his throat. Jack hadn't fought Snotlout because he thought his bodyguard was helpless or weak. He'd done it because he cared. Because, at least to some extent, Hiccup mattered to him.

Astrid's smile grew when Hiccup's face lit up with realization, glad to see her numskulled best friend finally use his brains. She crouched down lightly, catching his gaze as he stared at the ground.

« Don't worry. » She reassured him. « Just ease up on him a little—maybe turn down the sass a notch—and everything should be fine. »

Worry flashed in Hiccup's eyes. « Astrid, I— »

« Hiccup… » She reprimanded, frowning slightly although it was light-hearted. « Do you really want me to take the matter in my own hands again? »

The brunet gulped loudly, shaking his head hard. The last time Astrid had intervened in his personal business was when he and a boy from his high school had had a mutual crush on each other but neither had been willing to act on it, vigorously refusing to admit to anything. Back then, the blonde girl had started making widely inappropriate comments whenever the two boys were around, all revolving around the idea that she and Hiccup were sexually involved. It had gone on for three embarrassing weeks before the teens had finally chosen to deal with their feelings.

Granted, they had dated for seven months after that, and although this time the situation was different, Hiccup really didn't want to know what his devil of a best friend had in mind this time to patch things up between Jack and him.

« Don't worry. » He said, looking back to the other side of the hall, where he could spot Jack sulking. Hiccup smiled weakly at Astrid. « I'll make things right. »

The girl squeezed his shoulder again as Hiccup passed by her. « Go get 'im, babe. »

Hiccup reached the stairway and stood in silence for a few minutes. Jack was sitting at the top of the stairs, frowning as he stared at his feet. If he noticed the brunet reach his side and sit next to him, he made no sign to show it. The boy looked miserable, like a child having been punished unfairly. Hiccup sighed and went to fish something in his back pocket.

Jack jumped slightly when a paper tissue appeared in front of his hands. He turned to Hiccup with wide eyes, but his bodyguard was looking away from him, avoiding eye contact and acting nonchalant yet his ears were slightly flushed.

« Here. » Hiccup said, shaking the tissue slightly so Jack would take it. « For your hands. »

The singer looked back down, examining his hands in confusion. Until then, he hadn't noticed that his knuckles were slightly bloody. They were only slightly grazed, and most of the blood probably wasn't  _his_ , but the accepted the tissue nonetheless.

« Thanks. » He muttered.

Hiccup offered a sheepish but warm smile, and the boy felt his hair prickling at the back of his neck. But before he could overthink that fact, the brunet frowned in worry, hand reaching up to tap the corner of his lips.

« You've got some here. » He said, and when Jack tried to mirror his movement, he shook his head slightly. « No, there—let me— » He help out a hand, brushing the side of the white-haired boy's chin with his thumb, tongue poking out of his lips slightly as his brows furrowed in focus. The brunet suddenly seemed to realize what he was doing because he quickly retracted his hand, embarrassed as he met Jack's gaze. « I—Sorry. »

Jack smiled softly and went back to wiping the spot Hiccup had just been touching. He stopped when he heard the freckled boy sigh next to him.

« I… I'm sorry I lost my temper earlier. » Hiccup shook his head slightly, watching his hands fiddling together as he spoke. « And I'm sorry about everything I said. »

« And I'm sorry you might get fired because I got hurt. » Jack replied, looking up at the roof several floors above them. « I might have been a little reckless. »

« Might. » The brunet repeated, smirking.

« Yeah, well… Sorry. »

Hiccup chuckled, and Jack turned his head to raise and eyebrow at him. The smaller teen shot him a crooked grin and nudged Jack's sides with his elbow.

« Look at that. I think it's the first time you've ever apologized to me. »

Jack laughed softly. « Don't get used to it. »

Hiccup joined him with a good-natured laugh, and they stayed in peaceful silence for a few minutes before the brunet cleared his throat.

« Still… Thanks for standing up for me. »

His voice was grateful and his smile was so genuine that Jack stayed breathless for a couple of seconds before saying;

« Anytime. »

Hiccup nodded and stood up, offering a hand for Jack to do the same. Once he'd help pulling the white-haired teen on his feet, the brunet rolled his shoulders and gestured the bottom of the stairs.

« If I don't get fired, I'll really owe you that cup of coffee. » He joked, and Jack laughed. « Let's get you home, and maybe try not to start any other fights on the way. »

Jack puffed his chest. « Can't make any promises. »

Hiccup chuckled, and bumped his shoulders into Jack's, sending him tumbling a couple of feet further. The two of them made their way out of the college campus, occasionally teasing and trying to send the other off course.

It was peaceful, and although they both knew that this wasn't the end of their little personal war, at least for now it was a truce.

And maybe that was all they needed.


End file.
